Legal Question in Family Law in New Mexico

First of All I am divorcing my husband, He is not the biological father to my daughter but she has his last name and is on the birth certificate. For our divorce which do I need to do with or without children. Also I want to try to get his name off the birth certificate as the father I do not know who the father is but I know its not my husband, As we were not together when i got pregnant. I would also would like to know what steps I would need to do to change her last name to my maiden name which is what she should of had.


Asked on 1/10/10, 4:51 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
John Watson John Watson, Attorney at Law

In your divorce petition you should allege that he is not the father of the child & ask the court to have DNA testing done. There are a lot of factors at play here & you should be aware that it is possible the court could still find that he is the child's father. You should seek the advice & counsel of a family law attorney. If the court finds that the child is not a child of your husband you should then be able to (a) have a new birth certificate issued with no 'father's' name on the certificate and (b) make a name change for her. There is a statute in NM laws that sets forth the process and procedure about changing a child's name. While it is possible to do the name change on your own I have found that most people want to trust that matter to their attorney. I would suggest that you print this answer & question and take them to your attorney & ensure that these matters get resolved altogether.

Good Luck

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Answered on 1/17/10, 9:51 pm


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