How to change my child last name in texas

How do I change my child's name in Texas?

A court will use a best interests of the child standard to make this determination of whether to grant the motion. Of the persons entitled to being notified of a person's intent to change the name of the child are:

1. the other parent (if their parental rights have not been terminated)
2. any guardian of the child
3. a person adjudicated to be a managing conservator of the child

If the biological father of the child needs to be served and agrees to the name change, then the process can be a smooth and relatively quick one. However, if the biological father does not agree to the name change, then he may file a response to the lawsuit and seek to go before a judge to show that it is not in the child's best interest to have their name changed.

Another issue that can complicate or at the very least delay the process is if the biological father is difficult to find and/or has not been in contact with the person attempting to file the lawsuit. A court will require that the father be given notice. If personal service is not possible for reasons that are beyond the control of the lawsuit's filer then a court can agree to substituted service (often through service by publication). A party will need to have an affidavit completed which states the circumstances of why personal service was not possible and the efforts undertaken to ascertain the location of the biological father.

Along with the name change of a child, documents that are often filed concurrently are requests for the court to issue an order stating the biological father of the child. In some instances when a child's birth father is listed incorrectly on their birth certificate it is necessary for a paternity test to be administered to correct the mistake. In this sort of situation, the Department of State Health Services must be contacted to ensure that no other party has acknowledged parternity. From there, genetic testing may be ordered from the court in order to ensure that the correct man is determined to be the father of a child.

One of our associate attorneys recently handled the name change of a teenage girl whose biological father was not listed on her birth certificate. The child's mother was our client and she requested the name change once a paternity test showed a man different than the one listed on her birth certificate to be her biological father. Our client wanted her daughter's name to be changed in order to limit any confusion for the daughter as she aged about who her actual father was. Other common reasons for seeking a name change for a child are to help identify the child as part of a family unit and to allow this change to occur as early as possible in the child's life.

While the process is an involved one, the impact on a child's life can last a lifetime. With an undertaking such as this, it is important to have an experienced attorney available to assist you. The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC are representatives who are able to advocate for persons who are interested in changing the name of one of their children.

If you want to know more about what you can do, CLICK the button below to get your FREE E-book: “16 Steps to Help You Plan & Prepare for Your Texas Divorce”

1. How Do I Change My Child's Last Name and Add My Name to the Birth Certificate in Texas?
2. 6 things You Need to Know Before You File for Divorce in Texas
3. I Want a Texas Divorce but My Husband Doesn't: What can I do?
4. Am I Married? - Marital Status in Texas
5. 6 Tips - On How to prepare for a Texas Divorce
6. Roadmap of Basic Divorce Procedure in Texas
7. Child Custody Basics in Texas
8. 6 Mistakes that can Destroy Your Texas Divorce Case
9. 10 Quick Tips About Parental Visitation

The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC routinely handles matters that affect children and families. If you have questions regarding divorce, it's important to speak with one of our Spring, TX Divorce Lawyers right away to protect your rights.

Our divorce lawyers in Spring TX are skilled at listening to your goals during this trying process and developing a strategy to meet those goals. Contact Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC by calling (281) 810-9760 or submit your contact information in our online form. The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC handles Divorce cases in Spring, Texas, Cypress, Klein, Humble, Kingwood, Tomball, The Woodlands, the FM 1960 area, or surrounding areas, including Harris County, Montgomery County, Liberty County, Chambers County, Galveston County, Brazoria County, Fort Bend County and Waller County.

How Do I Change My Child's Last Name and Add My Name to the Birth Certificate in Texas?

It is not uncommon for fathers who consult with me regarding obtaining their father’s rights to ask about changing their child’s last name and adding th Birth Certificateeir name to child’s birth certificate. There are many reasons why their name may not have been on the birth certificate or the child’s mother chose a different last name for the child than the fathers.

I would say the number one reason reported to me by both fathers and mothers was the father was not present for the child birth. I have heard many reasons for this from:

1. “I was not invited” from a father to
2. “The father was invited and he was there at first but he left to go be with his girlfriend” from a mother

In today’s blog post we will discuss 1) why being present at a child’s birth matters in regards to naming a child and father’s name being on a birth certificate and 2) What can be done if your name does not make it onto the birth certificate in Texas 3) How you can change the last name of your child

There are a multiple of reasons why it is a good idea to be present at your child’s birth. As a father, myself it was never a question in my mind on whether I would be present. The experience of becoming a father begins the moment your child is born. Becoming a father, starts on the journey of a lifetime.

One of the complaints I receive from fathers who miss the birth of their child is that their name is not on their child’s birth certificate and the mother chose a different last name. By being absent at the time of their child’s birth they were also absent when the following forms get filled out at the hospital:

1. Acknowledgment of Paternity
2. Mother’s Worksheet for Child’s Birth Certificate

The voluntary signing of an Acknowledgement of Paternity (AOP) form is one of 5 ways to establish paternity. Usually this is done at the hospital soon after the child’s birth because of convenience. The child’s mother and father are usually there together and eager to secure the child’s legal connection to his or her father.

Most parents come to the hospital planning for the father’s name will be on the birth certificate. In Texas, a man who is not married to the child’s mother must sign the AOP before his name can go on the birth certificate. Thus, if a father is not married to the other and not present at the child’s birth then the mother will not be able to add the child’s fathers name to the birth certificate without the father signing this form.

Two ways to get a child’s birth certificate amended include:

1. Outside of Court if there have been no court proceedings started
2. Through the Courts in Texas

Outside of Court

If the Acknowledgement of Paternity (AOP) form was not completed in the hospital it may later be completed outside of the hospital by agreement with the mother. However, this is a form that you and the mother cannot complete by yourself. In fact, the form is restricted and only available through certified entities.

The form must be witnessed by someone who has taken a special Acknowledgement of Paternity course and who has been assigned a certified entity code. This is a course that must be annually renewed. The witness must read warnings to those signing the form of the legal significance of doing so. This generally why it is often easier to take care of this in the hospital which is equipped for this purpose.

Once and AOP has been completed and received by the State Health Department Vital Statistics Unit from all parties of the AOP, you must complete an Application Based on Parentage form. This form is used to change and add a father to the birth certificate. This form may also be used to change the child's last name at the same time.

Through the Court System

If not everyone will sign the Acknowledgement of Paternity, then it will be necessary to establish paternity through the court system. A court order is all necessary to establish:

1. Rights and Duties
2. Visitation
3. Child Support

Thus, if you are looking to do more than get your name listed as the father on a birth certificate or change the last name of the child then it may be necessary to seek these remedies through the court. The cause of action that you will filing will be a Petition to Adjudicate Paternity.

In your Petition, you can ask for your paternity be established and the birth certificate be amended.

This is a decision of the court will be based on the “best interest of the child.” Currently the Texas Supreme Court has identified what factors should be considered when determining if a name change is in a child’s best interest. But appellate courts in Texas and other jurisdictions have identified many such nonexclusive factors. The 14^TH District Court of Appeals in Houston in “In Re H.S.B. 401 S.W.3d 77 (Tex. App -Houston [14^th Dist.] 2011) provided the following factors as being the most relevant in the majority of cases:

1. the name that would best avoid anxiety, embarrassment, inconvenience, confusion, or disruption for the child, which may include consideration of parental misconduct and the degree of community respect (or disrespect) associated with the name,
2. the name that would best help the child’s associational identity within a family unit, which may include whether a change in name would positively or negatively affect the bond between the child and either parent or the parents’ families,
3. assurances by the parent whose surname the child will bear that the parent will not change his or her surname at a later time,
4. the length of time the child has used one surname and the level of identity the child has with the surname,
5. the child’s preference, along with the age and maturity of the child, and
6. whether either parent is motivated by concerns other than the child’s best interest—for example, an attempt to alienate the child from the other parent.

If you want to know more about what you can do, CLICK the button below to get your FREE E-book: “16 Steps to Help You Plan & Prepare for Your Texas Divorce”

1. How do I change my child's name in Texas?
2. 6 things You Need to Know Before You File for Divorce in Texas
3. I Want a Texas Divorce but My Husband Doesn't: What can I do?
4. Am I Married? - Marital Status in Texas
5. 6 Tips - On How to prepare for a Texas Divorce
6. Roadmap of Basic Divorce Procedure in Texas
7. Child Custody Basics in Texas
8. 6 Mistakes that can Destroy Your Texas Divorce Case
9. 10 Quick Tips About Parental Visitation

The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC routinely handles matters that affect children and families. If you have questions regarding divorce, it's important to speak with one of our Spring, TX Divorce Lawyers right away to protect your rights.

Our divorce lawyers in Spring TX are skilled at listening to your goals during this trying process and developing a strategy to meet those goals. Contact Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC by calling (281) 810-9760 or submit your contact information in our online form. The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC handles Divorce cases in Spring, Texas, Cypress, Klein, Humble, Kingwood, Tomball, The Woodlands, the FM 1960 area, or surrounding areas, including Harris County, Montgomery County, Liberty County, Chambers County, Galveston County, Brazoria County, Fort Bend County and Waller County.

How to change a child's last name: step-by-step instructions

My ex-husband and I have been divorced for a long time. The common child is eight years old, I am raising him myself. Can I change my son's last name without the consent of my ex-spouse? He does not take part in the child's life - the last time he saw his son was five years ago. Where is the ex-husband, I do not know.

Tamara Skokova

guardianship and guardianship specialist

Author profile

By law, parents are required to resolve all issues related to the upbringing of children jointly. Including what surname the child will have: by father, mother or double.

But if the parents live separately, the person with whom the child lives can change his surname to his own. Here's how to do it and what are the nuances.

How to change the child's last name if both parents agree

The child must have the last name of one of the parents, even if their marriage is not officially registered. At the same time, if before the child's fourteenth birthday, for example, the mother wants to change his surname to his father's, this can be done through a joint request to the guardianship and guardianship authorities.

Art. 58, 59 SK RF

That is, if both parents agree to give the child a new surname, they just need to contact the guardianship authorities. Even if they are already divorced by this time.

The opinion of a child who is over ten years old must be taken into account: if he does not want to change his last name, the guardianship authorities will refuse to parents.

Art. 57 SK RF

In what cases it is possible not to obtain the consent of the second parent

Difficulties arise when parents live separately and cannot or do not want to agree on the name of the child. In this case, the parent with whom the child lives can still give him his last name.

p. 2 art. 59 SK RF

The family code indicates four situations when it is not necessary to take into account the opinion of the second parent:

1. It is impossible to determine where the second parent is.
2. He is deprived of parental rights.
3. He was declared incompetent.
4. A parent avoids raising and supporting a child without valid reasons.

Any of these circumstances will have to be documented. I'll tell you more.

It is not known where the other parent is. In order for the guardianship authorities to ignore the opinion of the second parent, it will be necessary to prove that its location cannot be established. To do this, you need to write a statement to the police and put the person on the wanted list.

/police/

How to contact the police

In your case, you can indicate in the application that family ties have been lost with the father of the child, and you want to find out about the fate of your ex-husband and clarify whether he wants to keep in touch with his son. The police will accept the application and immediately issue a notification ticket.

After that, the search will begin. The police will check the ex-spouse against databases, interview his relatives, and visit the last place of residence. Based on the results of the check, you will be given a written response. It may indicate that:

1. it was not possible to find a person - you can contact the guardianship authorities with this document;
2. a person was found - with such an answer, without the consent of the ex-husband, it will not be possible to change the son's surname.

If the police cannot find a person within a year, this is the basis for declaring him missing in court. And if within five years - declare dead. The court's decision to recognize the second parent as missing or dead is unconditional evidence that his opinion on changing the child's surname can be disregarded.

Also, if the ex-spouse can be recognized as missing or dead, your son will be able to claim a survivor's pension.

How to apply for a survivor's pension

Alimony debtors can be recognized as missing without involving the police. It is enough that during the year a person does not pay alimony and hides from bailiffs.

hours 16 65 of the Law "On Enforcement Proceedings"

I will give an example from judicial practice.

The father applied to the court. When he came to his daughter's school to meet the teacher, he found out that the girl was listed under her mother's surname - the woman changed the child's surname without his consent.

In an application to the guardianship authorities, the mother wrote that she could not provide the consent of the father of the child, because she did not know where he lived. She also added that the man does not participate in the upbringing and maintenance of his daughter, and she may have psychological trauma from the fact that she bears her father's surname. But the plaintiff did not provide any evidence of this.

As a result, the court of first instance decided that the guardianship authorities violated the law when they allowed the child's surname to be changed without taking into account the opinion of the other parent. They did nothing to find out where the father is and whether he is really avoiding raising his daughter. Moreover, they did not even try to find out, because they made a decision on the same day that the mother applied. The appeal and cassation left the decision of the court of first instance in force.

Appeal ruling of the Moscow Regional Court dated April 6, 2015 No. 33-4317/2015PDF, 75.1 KB

If a parent has been deprived of parental rights. How and when a parent can be deprived of their rights, Tinkoff Magazine has already written.

Judging by your question, the ex-husband is avoiding parental duties: he has not seen his son for five years. This is one of the grounds for depriving him of parental rights through the court.

Art. 69, 70 of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation

In addition, the prosecutor's office and guardianship authorities are necessarily involved in such cases.

For example, in 2018 in Adygea a woman demanded to deprive her son of his father of his parental rights. She referred to the fact that the child lives with her, her ex-husband does not pay alimony, he does not raise his son and has not seen him for six years. This was enough for the court to satisfy the claim.

If the parent has been declared incompetent. Legal capacity is the ability to exercise one's civil rights and perform one's duties. It usually starts at age 18.

Art. 21, 29 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation

Only a court can declare incompetent if a person has a mental disorder in which he does not understand the meaning of his actions or cannot manage them.

What to do? 08/23/18

How to recognize a person as incompetent? I feel sorry for my grandmother, but I'm afraid for the apartment

In order for the guardianship authorities to agree to change the child's surname, without taking into account the opinion of the other parent on this basis, you will have to bring them a certified copy of the court decision - a certificate from the hospital will not be enough.

If the other parent avoids raising the child. By law, parents have many responsibilities towards their children. From your question, it seems that the ex-husband does not fulfill at least one of them - does not support a son. If so, you can recognize him as a persistent non-payer of alimony - then the guardianship authorities will be able to ignore the opinion of the ex-husband about changing the child's surname.

Art. 80 SK RF

Non-payers are people who do not pay child support for two or more months. To confirm this, you need to contact bailiffs. They will issue a certificate, which will indicate the period of debt and the amount.

Art. 5.35.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation

True, a certificate can be obtained if bailiffs are already collecting alimony. That is, if you have collected them in court or you have an agreement on their payment, which the ex-husband does not fulfill.

You can also confirm that the other parent does not support the child by a judicial act. The decision to collect alimony will not work: you need to prove that the parent does not pay, and such a decision will only indicate how much, to whom and where to pay. But a decision on bringing to administrative responsibility for non-payment of alimony or a court verdict under Article 157 of the Criminal Code is suitable.

/dolgi-roditelya/

What the child's other parent owes you

Here is an example from court practice.

The child's father applied to the court. He wanted to appeal the decision of the guardianship authorities, which allowed the mother to change the child's surname without his consent.

But the court found that the man really evaded the upbringing and maintenance of his son. This was confirmed by witnesses and a certificate from bailiffs stating that he had alimony debt. Both the first instance and the appeal supported the mother and upheld the decision of the guardianship authorities.

Ruling of the Leningrad Regional Court dated January 16, 2013 No. 33-110/2013PDF, 66.6 KB

How to change the name of a child under 14

Suppose you already have the required court order or document from the police. Here's what to do next.

Contact guardianship. To change the name of a child under 14, you need to write a free-form application to the guardianship and guardianship authorities at the place of residence. The main thing is to indicate your data, information about the child and the reason for the decision. For example, if you got married for the second time, you can write that the new spouse wants to adopt a child. Or the fact that the son’s last name is different from yours causes him inconvenience. It is also worth explaining why guardianship authorities may not take into account the opinion of the second parent.

/divorce-deti/

“The child must not be separated from the mother”: 10 questions to the lawyer about the rights of parents in a divorce

Enclose with the application:

1. A copy of your passport.
2. A copy of the child's birth certificate.
3. A copy of the divorce certificate.
4. Certificate of the child's place of residence.
5. Consent of a child over 10 years of age.
6. Documents on why the opinion of the second parent can be ignored.

An example of an application to the guardianship authoritiesPDF, 59.4 KB

The legislation does not contain a clear list of documents that may be needed. Therefore, guardianship, depending on the situation, may request something else.

The guardianship authorities have 30 days to consider the application and make a decision on it. During this time, they should talk with the child and with each of the parents, if possible.

paragraph 1 of Art. 12 of the law "On the procedure for considering applications from citizens of the Russian Federation"

Based on the results of the conversations and taking into account the interests of the child, guardianship issues a reasoned decision on consent or disagreement to change the child's surname. It can be challenged in court.

I will give two examples from my practice.

In the first case, the mother decided to change her son's surname to her maiden name. She divorced the father of the child, the son lived with her. We refused her for the following reasons:

1. Father and son were against changing their surnames.
2. The father paid alimony, saw his son regularly and maintained a good relationship with him.
3. In the actions of the woman, we noticed the intent to annoy her ex-husband, because she did not substantiate the demands in any way. She had only one argument: "I want the child and I to have the same last name." Along the way, she was going to remarry and change her last name.

In the second case, the woman gave birth to a child out of wedlock. Later, his father established paternity and gave him his last name. But they did not live together, the man did not communicate with the child, he did not even know him. The mother turned to us to change the child's surname to her own. We agreed and did not take into account the opinion of the father, because the woman presented a court decision to restrict his parental rights.

/kak-podat-v-sud/

How to file a lawsuit

Art. 60 of the Law "On acts of civil status"

sub. 5 p. 1 art. 333.26 NK RF

A new birth certificate will be ready in a month. If the registry office for some reason refuses to change the child's surname, this can be appealed in court.

paragraph 1 of Art. 60 of the Law "On acts of civil status"

How to change the surname of a child over 14 years old

From the age of 14, the child decides whether to change the surname or not, he does not need to contact the guardianship authorities. The child also submits an application to the registry office at the place of residence on his own. It is necessary to attach the consent of the parents to it - they write it in the registry office or at the notary.

Without parental consent, a child between 14 and 18 years old can only change their surname if they have full legal capacity. This happens when a child is married before the age of 18 or is recognized as emancipated by the decision of the guardianship or court.

/prava/prava-deti/

Rights of children under 18 years of age

The consent of parents who are deprived of rights is also not required. I have had several such cases.

A woman gave birth to a daughter out of wedlock and left, leaving her to her grandmother. The mother was deprived of parental rights, and the grandmother became the guardian. Until the age of 14, the girl bore her mother's surname, and after that she changed it to her grandmother's. Parental consent was not required for this.

The second case is similar. The mother left her son in the care of her paternal grandmother. But the man did not establish paternity, because he had a different family, and we deprived the mother of parental rights. Grandmother became the guardian. After 14 years, the child changed his surname to grandmother's, and the consent of the parents was not needed for this.

After the registry office issues a new birth certificate to the child, he will have to obtain a new passport within a month from the MFC or the migration department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

/name-changing/

How to change a name in Russia

What needs to be done after changing the child’s last name

A copy of the new birth certificate must be submitted to a clinic, kindergarten or school, as well as to the authorities that register citizens locally residence, and to other institutions in which the child is registered. The law does not oblige to do this, but in order to avoid problems with documents in the future, it is better to notify everyone.

All of the child's important papers will also need to be replaced. For example, SNILS and a passport. We talked about how to change these documents in more detail in another article.

But the law does not oblige to notify the father that the child's surname has changed.

What is the result

Your son is eight years old. This means that it is not necessary to obtain his consent to change his surname. But you need to get the consent of the father or documents stating that he is evading the maintenance of the child or cannot be found.

To do this, you will need to contact the police and the court. The next step is the guardianship authorities: they must check whether the rights of the son are infringed. If guardianship agrees, you can apply to the registry office for a new birth certificate for the child - this will cost 650 R.

/guide/married-with-children/

How to get a divorce if there are minor children

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Maxim Bondar

According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), every year about 300,000 people in the United States change their names and / or surnames in court (married women do not count). Approximately 70% of them are immigrants and do so in the process of obtaining US citizenship.

The process of choosing and changing the name is accompanied by many bureaucratic subtleties. For example, government experts currently making decisions about name changes run every request over the Internet.

They must make sure that the chosen names and surnames do not belong to celebrities, famous movie characters, literary heroes, or even worse - criminals (Nazis, maniacs, dictators, etc.).

I must say that before the advent of the Internet, the process of considering a request for a name change often turned into big problems. Sometimes immigrants called themselves the names of dishonest people who are known only to members of their community.

As a result, for most Americans, their new identity was not associated with anyone, but, for example, the Chinese, Mexicans or Italians caused laughter or, conversely, indignation.

There were cases when immigrants called themselves swear words written in English transcription.

Today, such "jokes" are rare. Moreover, criminal cases are brought against some people if they want to "reincarnate" as Adolf Hitler or Charles Manson.

In most cases, people change their names for five reasons.

First, they want to completely dissolve into American society, forget the past and do everything possible so that they can never be found.

The ideal choice is Michael Smith (the most popular first and last name in the US over the past 100 years).

There are tens of thousands of people with such data. Therefore, if someone tries to find the Michael Smith he needs on the Internet, then nothing will work - it can take months and even years. For example, Google returns 930 million at the request of Michael Smith.

Accordingly, for women, the best choice is Mary Smith.

The second reason for the change of personality is too long a name or surname, typical for immigrants from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Finland and other countries.

In the States with a long "name" life is not easy. Even if you shorten the data while meeting people, problems will arise during the execution of various documents.

So, the Hindu Raj K., who had a surname of 19 letters, had to redo her green card, work permit, license driver, social security card and college diploma many times.

Very often, instead of an incorrect document, state services sent a new one, which also contained spelling errors. During naturalization, the Hindu reduced her surname to four letters and breathed a sigh of relief.

It has been proven that officials rarely make mistakes in documents if a person's first or last name contains eight or fewer letters. If there are more of them, then the chances of a typo increase dramatically.

If the word has more than eleven letters, then the wrong document will be printed with a probability of 18%.

The explanation for the errors is simple: all officials, from immigration officers to motor vehicle (DMV) clerks, look at the last name once before typing it in.

Remembering visually Smith is not difficult, but some Smithjohnson is much more difficult. Officials are not punished for spelling errors, so they do not think about the consequences of their negligence.

The third reason for changing personal data is getting rid of names and surnames associated with a particular ethnic group.

Most people will immediately determine that Lopez is most likely Latino and Farahani is Arab.

The fight against discrimination in America is in full swing, but ethnicity plays a role in both employment and career advancement. Therefore, many immigrants choose purely American surnames (Johnson, Williams, Brown, Jones, Miller, Davis) and first names (Sophia, Isabella, Emma, ​​Ethan, Jacob, Mason).

Fourth, people change data for religious reasons.

In search of God, they take the names and surnames of famous people, prophets and saints in Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, etc.

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