Legal Question in Family Law in New Jersey
Child support after name change
My husband was denied contact with his two children due to severe parental alienation seven years ago. He has faithfully paid support of $1350/month since that time. We also pay half of an expensive private school education for his daughter for which we had no input. His ex recently contacted him that his 14 year old son wants to change his last name to that of his stepfather (who his mother has told him is his REAL father). She wants my husband to be financially responsble, just give permission for the name change. Does my husband have any recourse as far as child support goes since he hasn't had contact with the children for seven years. It is extremely possible that his 19 year old daughter has already changed her name. Should my husband be responsible for paying support for children who do not carry their birth name? In any event, should he be seeking a reduction in child support since the oldest is attending college in another state?
He has not wanted to ''open a can of worms'' so to speak, but this request has him very upset.
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Child support after name change
Mr. Moore did a good job of answering your question. Keep in mind, any motion with the court will likely open a can of worms.
Re: Child support after name change
You need to get your husband to a divorce attorney. There are a LOT of things going on here.
NO, he does not have to consent to a namechange. That does not solve the problem, of course.
Please, have him see a divorce attorney.
Call me if you like; there is never a charge for an initial telephone call.
You can then decide how you would like to proceed.
My contact information can be obtained from the links below, just click on the Attorney Profile link. Let my secretary know you found me through LawGuru.
Disclaimer: Your question and any response does NOT create an attorney-client relationship between you and this law firm. You can not rely on the statements made by an attorney given over the internet. The exact facts of your situation, including facts which you have not mentioned in your question, may completely change the result for your situation.
Re: Child support after name change
A name change alone does not alter a child support obligation. If he wants to block the name change he should file an objection thereto.
As for child support, living on college campus is a form of child support because room and board are provided. There should be no child support when the child is away at college. It might be good to calculate the total child support for the Summer and divide it by twelve to obtain the amount of monthly child support you seek to pay by way of a motion to the Court.
Thirdly, if the mother is saying the stepfather is the real father perhaps this should be used to obtain a dna test to shift the child support obligation to him.
Call me if you like.
Gary Moore, Esquire
Hackensack, New Jersey
www.garymooreattorneyatlaw.com
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