Legal Question in Family Law in Texas

I have a 7yr old daughter and she caries my maiden name. On her birth certificate the father portion is blank (i dont know who it is and have no way to find out who it may be). I have been married for 4yrs now and my husband is the only father she has ever known. We are planning on expanding our family soon but we want and so does our daughter want her last name to be the same as ours. Can and how do we change her last name? My husband is going to adopt her but that cost more than what we can afford at the time. I have heard the term "back door adoption" and that is not what we are trying to do. She just wants to be the same as us.


Asked on 5/29/13, 5:52 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Thomas Daley KoonsFuller PC

You have to file a Petition for Name Change of a Minor. In the pleadings, assert that there is no known or presumed biological father to notify and ask the court to allow the name change as being in the best interest of the child. The court might or might not allow it depending on whether the court finds that it is in the child's best interest to have a family name that has not adopted her.

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Answered on 5/29/13, 7:39 pm


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