Q: If my son's father has not seen him in 6 years could the judge order a name change without the fathers consent?
My son's father only pays when he wants bonded out of jail. He hasn't seen him in 6 years and I want to change my sons last name to my married name. Could a judge order to do so if we go to court and his father doesn't show up for the hearing? My son is 10 years old and I've asked multiple times to sign over his rights so my husband could adopt him but he won't. Hasn't seen him in 6 years but we need to know what to do. My son is the one who feels like he's not part of the family due to his last name be different.
A: If there is no opposition, its possible the Judge will grant your request. Your question doesn't provide information about an important consideration: the age of the child. If the child is already school age and in summary, has assumed an identity, the Judge may not be willing to change the child's name. The child is not related to you new husband, so changing the name at this stage could be confusing to the child. You may wish to discuss the possibility of your husband adopting the child, instead of just a name change.
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