Changing child’s last name??

Question

Anyone know about if I can change my child’s last names from dads to mine? I’m not with him was a bad relationship. Does it matter if he’s on birth certificate or not? 
Thanks!
Update thank you for all your insight and the law info and personal stories. Please keep it coming, it’s helpful 😊 I live in Texas if that helps!

Answer

I believe the father has to agree to it if he’s on the birth certificate.....

Answer

Whoever is on the birth certificate rather they are involved or not has a right to this change. If the absent parent cannot be reached at the last known address the judge may proceed without him.

Answer

If he is not on the birth certificate then you can do what you want, but if he is then pretty certain you’d need his consent as well, or i believe you’d have to prove it’s in the best interest of the child somehow

Answer

I just want to say to Morticia that it is true that if a parent brings a case into court to change a child’s name, the other parent (if determined to be the parent and indeed absent) can expect that an attempt to trace him/her will be made. Typically, the courts will expect the present parent to attempt to trace the absent parent by having them served at their last known address.
However, you are incorrect about the matter of having a name on a birth certificate. This does not give the man any legal standing or rights unless he is married to the mother at the time of the child’s birth.
There was a case in New York where a woman had fraternal twins out of wedlock. She put one man’s name on both birth certificates. However, when the DNA test results came back, the man had only fathered one of the twins. 
This is why putting a name on a birth certificate does not give a man legal standing, legal rights, or legal responsibilities towards a child. In this day and age, people are having more partners than in the past. It is not that uncommon anymore for a woman to appear with fraternal twins or triplets that were fathered by different men during her fertile window. And there is no state in the United States that will require a man to pay child support for a child that is not his.
Finally, a relative of mine had a baby at the age of 15 back in the very early 1960s. She kept the baby and put a fictitious name on the birth certificate for the father. The child is now grown and to this day, no member of the family knows who fathered her child. No amount of coaxing or persuading has ever gotten the secret out of her. Not even the child knows and I know the child has repeated asked since attaining adulthood.
And I hope you can forgive my dry humor, but I wish you the best of luck in tracking down a fictitious person.

Answer

In MT I have to have the father’s consent unless I’m married, terminating bio father’s rights and my hubby is adopting.
If I ever have another kid, I won’t put anyone down on the certificate, even if I’m married 😂

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I looked into this recently to change my sons from mine to his step dad's without going through the trouble of adopting.
You have to go to your country probate office and fill out a request form. The father can object and fight you. Which you'll need a lawyer for. If he doesn't and simply agrees, the process will go through smoothly. 
***I live in Ohio, USA. This could be different for your area. A quick Google search should help.

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You change it but it'd still be the child's last name on social security and birth certificate so I'd say there's really no point. 
But I do believe you'd need the fathers agreement to do so

Answer

I only know with New York (law can vary by state). But in New York, the mother and father must go before a judge and both agree to the name change and then must both agree in writing. 
However, this is only the case if there are court orders. What I mean by that is simply this; everyone knows you are the mother because the child comes out of you. If you are married, under New York, the husband is automatically the father (even if the child is born a different race from the husband and wife).
But, if the parents are not married, there must still be a DNA test even if the assumed father is listed on the birth certificate. Once paternity is established, the mother still has custody by default and the father has no rights. He must file for custody or visitation and a court order will now give him legal rights and standing. So if your child was born out of wedlock and there is nothing but your ex’s name on the birth certificate, you can change the child’s name whenever you feel like. But, costs can be steep depending on where you live. In New York, it costs $1,000 to change a person’s name.
Further, in some states, you are legally barred from giving an illegitimate child the father’s surname because you weren’t married at the time of the child’s birth.
Finally, it is necessary to have the father’s name on the birth certificate for the purpose of collecting child support (as so many men skip town and leave you to carry the expense solo) and that’s it.
I would recommend that you speak with an attorney about this. If you cannot afford an attorney, I would recommend (depending on the state you live in) that you meet with Legal Aid. Depending on income, their lawyers will meet with you for free and give you legal advice. They can even manage the name change for you by seeing that all the correct forms are properly filled out and filed and they can petition the court to waive the fees for the name change. All you will need to do is to attend the hearing and answer a few questions issued by the judge. This is commonly done in the state of Nebraska (I have lived all over).

Answer

You can change it. Even hyphenate it if you’d like.

Changing child’s last name??

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