Legal Question in Family Law in Indiana

I have sole custody of my daughter who is 2 years old. The biological dad is on the birth certificate, but pays no support and has seen her approx. 8 times in her life. When she was born, I thought we'd work things out and I gave her his last name. Now, since he is not part of her life, I would like to change her last name to mine or at least hyphenate it with mine. Can I do this without his consent? If not, what are my options?


Asked on 1/14/13, 5:30 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jay Rigdon Rockhill Pinnick LLP

You can not do it without his consent. You will have to petition a court and try to convince the judge that this will make a difference in the child's life (Not just that you want to do it because you know think the father does not "deserve" the honor, which is essentially what your post states.)

Good luck.

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Answered on 1/15/13, 6:20 am


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