Legal Question in Family Law in Georgia
Minor's Name Change
Long story short--my husband and I now have permanent custody of our 2 grandchildren following the murder of their mother by their father. The children were 8 months and 4 1/2 yrs. when the estranged husband came back tomy daughter's house 2 days after she filed for divorce. He stabbed her with her own kitchen knife over 30 times in front of both children, chasing her out of the house into her yard where he tackled her and continued to stab her . He is now serving a life sentence.
Our granddaughter (now 6) doesn't understand why her last name is different from ours. With all she's been through we want her to be comfortable and feel wanted in our family. We have decided to maintain custody instead of adoption because of benefits for the children. Is there any way to change their last name without adoption? If not, can we change it to a hyphenated form of our last name plus theirs?
If this cannot be done, can our grandson's middle name be changed? He has the same middle name as his father (it was his father's given name) and we don't want him to have a reminder of his father for the rest of his life.
Thank you for any advice you can give us.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Minor's Name Change
A child's name can be changed by the custodial parents, and is a fairly simple and inexpensive matter that most attorneys can help you with.