Q: My daughter is 18 and wants to change her last name to her step dad's last name. See details for the issue involved.
When she was a baby her biological father ordered her name be changed to his in a child support hearing and the judge did it. I didn't even have a lawyer just one for the state and nothing else was supposed to be discussed but child support. The lawyer told me to just present her in society as the name she already had because her father was out of the picture in every way. So now to change her name the court says they will take the birth certificate that says her lifelong name and we have to buy a new one for a paper trail. However a new one will say a different name that the judge ordered of her biological father. So the paper trail won't exactly make sense to anyone. She's used her birth last name for everything and was never known as the judge ordered name which occurred in early 2000s. Her biological father is also deceased. What should we do? Any advice very appreciated.
A: The probate court handles name changes. Check the court web site for the forms and process to follow. But because there is a complicated back story about her name, and to create the proper paper trail, use the Find a Lawyer tab to retain a local attorney who deals with the probate court in the county in which she lives who can sort it all out with the court. After the court grants the name change, then she will have to update Social Security, driver's license, passport, school, doctor, bank, credit card companies, etc. to get all her records updated. Even then, there could be future confusion.
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