Legal Question in Family Law in North Carolina

The name change statutes are in Chapter 101 on the NC Statutes. I suggest that you read all of them. You either have to get the consent of the father or wait until your daughter is 16 unless you want to spend extra to get a court order and finding of abandonment.

I would wait the 5 years - you have made it 11 years already. When your daughter is 16, she will not need her father's consent. At that point, a simple name change can be requested. I know that Wake County has a name change packet online. Your county may have one; if it is not online, the clerk may have a name change packet. If they do not, borrow the one from Wake County (the process should be similar) but tailor it for your county.

� 101-2. Procedure for changing name; petition; notice.

(a) A person who wishes, for good cause shown, to change his or her name must file an application before the clerk of the superior court of the county in which the person lives, after giving 10 days' notice of the application by publication at the courthouse door.

(b) The publication in subsection (a) of this section is not required if the applicant:

(1) Is a participant in the address confidentiality program under Chapter 15C of the General Statutes; or

(2) Provides evidence that the applicant is a victim of domestic violence, sexual offense, or stalking. This evidence may include any of the following:

a. Law enforcement, court, or other federal or state agency records or files.

b. Documentation from a program receiving funds from the Domestic Violence Center Fund, if the applicant is alleged to be a victim of domestic violence.

(c) The application and the court's entire record of the proceedings relating to the applicant's name change is not a matter of public record where the applicant has complied with subsection (b)(1) or (b)(2) of this section. Records qualifying under this subsection shall be maintained separately from other records, shall be withheld from public inspection, and may be examined only by order of the court or with the written consent of the applicant.

(d) An application to change the name of a minor child may be filed by the child's parent or parents, guardian, or guardian ad litem, and this application may be joined in the application for a change of name filed by the parent or parents. Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit one parent to make an application on behalf of a minor child without the consent of the other parent if both parents are living; except that a minor who has reached the age of 16 years, upon proper application to the clerk, may change his or her name with the consent of the parent who has custody of the minor and has supported the minor, without the necessity of obtaining the consent of the other parent, when the clerk of court is satisfied that the other parent has abandoned the minor. A change of parentage or the addition of information relating to parentage on the birth certificate of any person is governed by G.S. 130A-118.

The consent of a parent who has abandoned a minor child is not required if a copy of an order of a court of competent jurisdiction adjudicating that parent's abandonment of the minor if filed with the clerk. If a court of competent jurisdiction has not declared the minor to be an abandoned child, the clerk, on 10 days' written notice by registered or certified mail, directed to the last known address of the parent alleged to have abandoned the child, may determine whether the parent has abandoned the child. If the parent denies that the parent abandoned the child, this issue of fact shall be transferred and determined as provided in G.S. 1-301.2. If abandonment is determined, the consent of the parent is not required. Upon final determination of this issue of fact the proceeding shall be transferred back to the special proceedings docket for further action by the clerk.