Legal Question in Family Law in New Jersey
custody
I have a court order namimg me as the sole legal parent. My child's father has visitation. He is now saying that he wants joint custody. What will the judge consider in deciding if the court order should be modified? Also, the child has my last name. The father was not in the picture when the child was born or for the first year after. The child is 6 now. The father has been pressing the issue of changing the last name or adding his last name onto the child's name. Do I have any legal obligation to agree to this? Can the judge order a name change?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: custody
I would need a lot more information. It would depend on why he hasn't had JLC in the first place.
You can object to the name change issue.
The judge can do whatever he or she likes. I doubt that a judge would change a name at this late stage as that could be confusing for the child, but that's just my opinion.