Legal Question in Family Law in Illinois
I have a daughter who will be 3 in December and I'd like to change her last name. The biological father has never been in her life, but his name in on the birth certificate because I was pressured into it. I regret not giving her my own name everyday. I'm in a serious committed relationship with my fiance now and we share a child together. Between us we have 3 children. Two of them have the same last name and I would love for my oldest daughter to have have it as well. He is the main man in her life and the only daddy she has ever known. I'd like to change it as soon as possible, before she's old enough to question why her last name is different from her sisters. How can I go about doing so? If my fiance has to adopt her to change her name then we're both willing to do so. Like I said, he is the only father she has ever known and the biological father is not in her life and never has been. Can we do this without his consent since we were never married? Please, I'm desperate.
2 Answers from Attorneys
You still have to give the biological father notice. He may sign a waiver. This is for adoption. You may be able to change your daughter's last name with an action to change her name. No notice to the biological father is needed because it's not an adoption. Please call.
It sounds like an adoption is the option that would give you the control over the child's life (and prevent some sort of surprise appearance from the biological father down the road). You CAN do this without his consent. Changing the child's name would be easier, but not really do the things it sounds like that you want. Let me know if you have any more questions.
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