[kristyl]

My husband and I would like my husband to adopt my 8 year old. His biological father has never met him, purchased a diaper, or paid a dollar in child support.

Can I get paperwork for him to give up rights without hiring an attorney? I was on public assistance for about 6 months when I first had my son. In order to get assistance I had to file for paternity and all that stuff. He never showed up in court. So paternity has never been "established" and I didn't put his name on the birth certificate.

Can I just legally change my sons last name?

How does my husband legally adopt him?

Is there a way to do this without spending a ton of money?

I'm in Arizona. Thanks for your help!

[stevetcg]

If you went on public assistance, but he never showed up, a default judgement would have been issued against him, so yes, paternity was established.

No, you cannot legally change your son's name without the birth father's consent. If you adopt, they yes, that's typically part of the process,

Your husband legally adopts him by going through an adoption process. The question really is what do you consider a ton of money? Ours cost us less than $1000 and that includes high court fees.

You, in theory, could do it yourself, but the mantra arournd here is "doing an adoption without a lawyer is like doing brain surgery on yourself - its possible, but the results might not turn out the way you hoped"