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SMorales530 · May 15, 2009, 12:35 PM

When I gave birth to my son I was 17 and the father was 18 we were young and I was still in high school. The father basically is a low-life never graduated does drugs no job been to jail before and has 2 other kids. Im currently in college broke and my parents are helping me out till I get placed in a job which is in 1 1/2 months. My sons father hasn't been in his life for almost over a year now I don't have a number or an address. He hasn't came around or anything. The last time I got something for my son from him was when he was 3 months old he is now 20 months. I want full custody of him because I would really want to change his last name to my last name. He did sign the birth certificate and legally has rights to see him. How do I go about doing this is the most easiest cheapest way possible?

ANB428 · May 15, 2009, 12:57 PM

You need to go to court and file for custody. Call your local family court house and ask them what the process is for you filing custody. You will need to fill out some paperwork and there will be a cost to file the paperwork.

As to changing the child's last name, you need to have consent from the father to change the child's last name. That is what I have been told from the legal members of this site.

mommyoftwins200 · May 15, 2009, 01:09 PM

You can file for free, you should be able to anyway. Like in my situation I have twins and the are 16 months old but as soon as I had them I went to Department of Public Health and filed paperwork for the state of Illinois to help me find and locate their father and get his for child support. What state do you live in?

jenniepepsi · May 15, 2009, 01:49 PM

In Alabama, to file an original Custody Complaint, the filing fee is $92.50 (subject to change). As no personal checks are accepted, payment should be made by either a money order or certified check, made out to the "Prothonotary's Office."

Child Custody FAQs :: Warren Forest Court

AmyShallFind · Jun 26, 2009, 01:26 AM

Not sure what state you are in but in Nebraska, changing my child's last name was a simple process that I did without an attorney and it cost me about $100. But keep in mind, the father did not show in court to dispute it either, if he had then it probably would have been more difficult. Anyhow, I just went to the courthouse and filed the paperwork with the reasons I wanted to change the name, placed a notice in the paper for 2 consecutive weeks, sent a certified mail (get with return signature) of the filed paperwork and copy of the notice to the father's last known address and went to court with all the documents. After I was granted the name change, I filed for a new social security card for my child. Hope it works out for you!

stinawords · Jun 26, 2009, 08:05 AM

To get legal custody you petition the judge to award you with custody. That does not give you the right to change the child's name though. As mentioned the father will have to agree to the name change even if you do have custody. If you want to change the name you have to petition the judge again for a name change and the father will have to be notified of the hearing date. If he does not show then you may win by default (but the judge could always continue it for a short time as well).

cdad · Jun 26, 2009, 05:44 PM

Originally Posted by SMorales530

When i gave birth to my son i was 17 and the father was 18 we were young and i was still in high school. The father basically is a low-life never graduated does drugs no job been to jail before and has 2 other kids. Im currently in college broke and my parents are helping me out till i get placed in a job which is in 1 1/2 months. My sons father hasnt been in his life for almost over a year now i dont have a number or an address. He hasn't came around or anything. The last time i got something for my son from him was when he was 3 months old he is now 20 months. I want full custody of him because i would really want to change his last name to my last name. He did sign the birth certificate and legally has rights to see him. How do i go about doing this is the most easiest cheapest way possible?

Have you ever been to court ? It sounds like you have full custody already. What your looking to do is legally affirm it. As far as him not being there you said he's in and out of jail and maybe that's why he hasn't been around. Also you should get a child support judgement against him.

Segismundo · Jun 26, 2009, 10:58 PM

As the natural mother of your child and by the fact that the father has not been around you have full legal and physical custody of your son. In order for you to change your son's name you must go to court and file a petition as your son's guardian ad litem to legally change his name. You must notify the father of this action. If you prove to the court that you have no knowledge of the father's whereabouts, the court may grant you permission to publish the notice in a newspaper. Courts are not inclined to change the name unless it is proven that it will be in the best interest of the child and that the father was given notice of the action. Your problem is common. Ofter times the mother wants to marry and have the "husband" become the adoptive parent by simply changing the name without terminating the father's parental rights. It is not a difficult issue but may not be as easy as it seems.

wnriley2 · Sep 23, 2009, 01:37 PM

I am wondering about all of this myself. I moved away from Kentucky to Indiana when my son was about 6 months and his dad has only seen him once since then when he turned 1 and he is now a little over 2 years old. He has never paid any child support from day 1 however he is on the birth certificate. He has 6 other children all with different mothers and doesn't pay child support on any of them due to the fact he is on disability and works a M-F cash job and lives off the government food stamps and healthcare however he does own his own home and has multiple vehicles in his name. I would like to have my son's name changed to mine also...