Legal Question in Family Law in Colorado
Changing a childs name
My son and girlfriend at the time,had a child 2 years ago. His name is on the birth certificate and the child uses his last name. He has not had much of a chance to see the child because he is in jail. I talk to the mother and she allows me to see the child. He tries to keep in touch by writing his child letters but there is no way to know if she even gets these letter. The mother recently sent my son a letter requesting him to allow her to change his childs last name to hers. He does not want to do this. My question is can she do this without his permission and does the fact that he is in jail give her any more rights to do this?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Changing a childs name
She must notify ypur son of any p[roceeding to change the child's name. The child's name will be changed opnly if it is in the child's best interets. In most cases, the Court will allow a hyphenated name using both parent's last names. That may be a compromise your son would wish to offer.