Can I legally have my 3 year old daughter's last name changed to my maiden name?
Question Details:
I am a single mother, my daughter was born out of wedlock but has her biological father's last name. I have an order of protection against him and he has many violent offenses filed against him by me and many of them happened in front of my daughter. He pays no child support but is on the birth certificate. I was wondering if I could have my daughter's last name changed to my maiden name without her father's consent because I know that he'll never give it even though he doesn't do anything for her. He even said that he would fight against having to pay child support if I went after it.
I think that you need to seek help from an attorney in your area with all of these issues. If in fact your daughter's father is that much of a concern that you have an order of protection against him and you want nothing to do with him, seek to terminate his parental rights. Then you can ask that your child's name be changed as well. As long as he has parental rights he can fight your changing her name. The name change will have to be "on notice" meaning that he will be given notice of your petition. That does not mean that if he challenges you he will win, it just means that he can challenge you. But there are much bigger issues here. You need to have them all ironed out NOW and not wait until something happens that places you and your daughter in a position that you do not need to be in. Good luck.
