Legal Question in Family Law in Alabama
Name change of child
My granddaughter is 5 yrs old. she along with my daughter(her mother) have lived in my house for the past 4 yrs. My daughter is divorced from the child's father. the father refused to pay child support and went into hiding from the authorities in May 1998. There has been no contact from him since that time.At one time there was a warrent for his arrest, but it was dropped since they could not fine him.my daughter has full custody of the child. we would like to change the child's last name. my daughter went back to her maiden name & the child tells everybody that is her name also. it is starting to cause confusion for her at preschool.how do we go about changing her last name .
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Name change of child
i believe the best approach in order to obtain the best and most permanent result is to file a petition to modify the decree of divorce and ask the judge to grant you the relief of changing the child's last name. you may also consider petitioning the court (probably family court) to terminate the parental rights of the father. either or both options would be helpful. call me for a more in depth consultation at no charge