Legal Question in Family Law in California

Yes, the baby can take the father's last name. In fact, the biological father has full parental rights, once he establishes he is the father by signing the birth certificate or through a parentage action where paternity is established. A biological father does not need to adopt his own child.

If the couple is together at the time of the birth, there is a very simple process to establish paternity, give the baby the father's name, etc. It can also be done after the birth and is just slightly more complicated. The mother cannot, however, give the child the father's name without his participation unless she gets a court determination of paternity, although that does not seem like the situation you are in. A biological father never has to adopt his child. My partner and I are not married and we have a wonderful son together. If the father is at the hospital, as I was, the staff will give you both the option of signing a voluntary declaration of paternity along with the other vital statistics paperwork you will deal with. If you both sign that in the hospital and neither of you revokes it within 60-days after signing it, and you put down on the paperwork that the child will have his father's name, that is all there is to it. Whether you ever marry or not, the child is confirmed as the father's and you will be parents together legally as well as in fact for as long as you all live. You can also sign the declaration at any time after the birth, but the process gets a little more complicated, the birth certificate will have to be amended, for example, and there will be modest fees, trips to the county recorder, etc.