Alamogordo, NM asked in Family Law for New Mexico

Q: my daughter is nearly 15 and wants to change her last name to her step-fathers. can her father object?

her father and I are amicable but he would never allow it if he can object. but everything i've read says since she's over the age of 14, she can petition the court to change her name. part of it is her relationship with her father, but mostly his last name is weird and pronounced weirdly and she'd like to have a less hard to pronounce name.

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1 Lawyer Answer
Don F. Harris
Don F. Harris
Answered
  • Albuquerque, NM
  • Licensed in New Mexico

A: The parents of a minor child have to be notified of a name change in New Mexico, and her dad can object. He may not bother, or the judge very well may overrule his objection if the child's reasoning is sound.

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