My daughter want to change her name to her step fathers, she is 13. I asked her dad he said I was crazy but he keeps threading to give up his rights because he doesn't want to pay child support. He never see's her but does pay child support. Since she is 13 can she decide?

You can call her anything you want but to give you a legal answer we would need to know more details about your relationship with her dad, in a legal sense.

No, usually not. Where and details?

We live in Texas. My husband has raised her and she says no one knows who's kid she is because her name is different. She also doesn't like being the only one in the house with a different name. Her dad picks her up maybe once every couple of months when it is convenient for him for a couple hours then brings her back. He doesn't show up for any of her activities. A lot of the times he tells her he is going to pick her up he doesn't show up. He started a knew job didn't tell me so she had no insurance and I haven't received child support in 3 months. He then told me he would only pay $200 a month or he was giving up his rights. I told him that was fine, he says that all the time. He is suppose to pay $550 a month and have insurance for her. She want to keep his last name just add our last name to hers.

I don't see that she can legally change her name. Apparently there's an Order involving custody and support so her father IS her father by law. The school may allow her to hyphenate her name.

However, at 13 she cannot make any legal decisions and her request to the Court won't necessarily be honored.

Visitation and support are not related to the name change.

Your husband can and you can file to allow him to adopt the 13 year old. That way child support will end, and she can change her name.

For just a name change, he can not give up his rights, and unless he will approve it is not going to happen.

So if you don't mind losing child support, and if your husband is willing to adopt, it should be able to happen.


The 13 year old has no real say in this, except to agree after all court work is done.