Questions and Professional Answers

• Change in Child Support in Texas

  What is needed to change child support in TX? Ex spouse makes more than I & they have one child & I have 2 (one being the youngest). Their lawyer also used extra monies(taken out of their income (ins. 401K)) to bring my ex spouses income below mine to get child support out of me. I need to know what actions to take and what paperwork I need to complete this change (deletion) of child support. Also, is it legal to use 401K, Ins., uniform expense, saving account withdraw, ect. to change amt. of income for child support purposes???

  • Re: Change in Child Support in Texas

    Child support can be changed with a Motion to Modify. Any manipulations of income should be brought to the attention of the judge. This would likely require discovery. The paperwork for these actions can be found in your local law library, but you would be better off to hire an attorney to assist you in this complex matter.

    James Grissom
    Law Office of James P. Grissom
    3507 West Alberta Rd.
    Edinburg,, TX 78539

• Child Name Change Laws

  My husband has a child with another woman whom he never married. On the child's birth cerficate, the child has his last name. The mother of this child got married last year. She wants to change her daughter's name to be both my husband's last name and her new married last name. My husband does not agree with this. Can the mother still legally change the daughter's last name without the consent of the father? They have no legal child custody papers written up, but he sees her and pays child support. And the child is only six years old. What would the mother need to do to legally change her daughter's last name?

  • Re: Child Name Change Laws

    Visit http://www.divorceprofessionals.comYou must seek the permission of the father in order to change custody. If the father will not agree, you must demonstrate to the Court that the name change is in the child's best interests and will not interfere with the father's parental rights.

    Maury Beaulier612.240.8005
    Minnesota Lawyers
    5775 Wayzata Blvd., Ste 700
    St. Louis Park, MN 55416

  • Re: Child Name Change Laws

    The mother would have to get permission of the court to make the name change, through a paternity action, which would include a child sharing order and a child support order. Your husband should talk to an attorney to establish his rights as the father through a paternity action. This will protect him and the child.

    Patrick McCrary
    Law Office Of Patrick L. Mccrary
    9340 Fuerte Drive, Suite 203
    La Mesa, CA 91941-4164

• Name change for minor.

  I want to change my child’s last name to be the same as my last name.My child is 2 years old. Me, my child nor the father are US citizens. I live in the US, work in the US and the child is born in the US. The father has no contact with the child, I receive no support from the father and the father is not listed on the birth certificate. Do I have to involve the father in the change of name? If so, what do I do if I can’t find the father? Do I have to go to court and/or hire an attorney?

  • Re: Name change for minor.

    Under the circumstances that you describe, apparently, having never married the father of your child, you do not have to involve him or receive his permission to change the name of the child.You can go to the clerk's office of the circuit court in the county or city where you live, explain what you want to do, and they can provide you with the necessary forms and explanation as tohow to fill them out.The completed paperwork is then filed with the court, and you follow their instructions as to what to do after that.

    Michael E. Hendrickson
    Attorney & Counsellor at Law
    211 North Union Street Suite 100
    Alexandria, VA 22314

• child name change

  My child has his father's last name and I wish to change it to my last name. I have full custody and paternity has been established. I understand that I need to file a petition in court for this and that the father needs to be notified of it. Do both parents have to agree to the change? What happens if he does not agree to this change?

  • Re: child name change

    You can go to the clerk's office of any circuit court in Virginia and pickup a prepared packet of forms and instructions as to how to do a "Name Change". There should be one applicable to minors and another for adults.These materials should have the answers to all ofyour questions, and you should be able to do the name change without the assistance of an attorney.

    Michael E. Hendrickson
    Attorney & Counsellor at Law
    211 North Union Street Suite 100
    Alexandria, VA 22314

• for school records

  how do i get my daughter last name change to my married name without going to court. The biological father does not pay child support, he ask me to take him out, because he no longer wanted his rights to the child(I took him out). Only to find out that was his plan and the only way out of paying and not going to jail, if I took him out because he put hisself in child support. All I want to do is have her name change before she start school this year. But every time i try to contact the father he says not to call him any more and that he is not going to court to have her name change and he does not want anything to do with her. And the only way I can change it is through him and he is not going to help. What are my rights, how can I get her name change ASAP

  • Re: for school records

    You can't get the child's name changed without going to court (even if the father is not opposed to the change.)This question in various forms has already been addressed in this forum several times.

    Michael E. Hendrickson
    Attorney & Counsellor at Law
    211 North Union Street Suite 100
    Alexandria, VA 22314

• Child Name Change

  My 13 (soon to be 14) year old would like to change her last name to her step-father's (my husband). Can she do this and where does she start? Her father is around and pays child support but does not see or talk with her on a regular basis. Can she change it in school without the courts involved? Please help her! Thank you.

  • Re: Child Name Change

    I do think that the child's biological father would want to be involved in this decision. You don't get to make it unilaterally, unfortunately. When there's a custody agreement the courts are always involved.

    Robert Luedeman
    solo practitioner
    2008 66th Street
    Windsor Heights, IA 50324

• Legal name change for minors

  I am looking for information regarding a name change for a minor child. I have a 14 and 12 year old who want to change their last names to my married last name. they have a father who is totally uninvolved and a stepfather who participates in every facet of their lives. Their natural father refuses to give permission for a name change without the elimination of child support. Does anyone know how old the children have to be before they are allowed to change their name without their natural father's permission in the state of Georgia? Does anyone know where I can find this info? Thanks

  • Re: Legal name change for minors

    If your ex has not 'abandoned' the child it would likely be difficult to get their name changed without his permission. When they reach the age of 18 then they will be able to change it fairly easily. From the tone of the letter, it seems that you might want them to change their names to get back at their Ex a little. In the grand scheme of things, why not just wait the 6 years and let them make that decision when they get 18? Also, instead of a name change, keep in mind that Georgia allows adult adoptions, whereas an adult can be adopted. When they reach the age of 18 they would have the option of just changing their name, or becoming your husbands legally adopted child.

    Harold Holcombe
    Harold D. Holcombe, Attorney At Law
    Nine Lumpkin Street, Suite 100
    Lawrenceville, GA 30045

• Name Change of Minor Child in my custody

  I have permanent custody a 5 yr old child whom my ex and I were going to adopt.(I have had him since birth, coming home from hospital) During a bitter divorce he claimed possible paternity of the child as the bio mom is a friend of ours. He lost all rights after DNA resulted in him not being Dad and a SS investigation showed he had been in jail for child abuse. I would like to know how to change last name of child as he has ex's last name and I have changed mine. Bio Mom is in full agreement of all of this and bio dad was found to be unknown and I have court documents saying so. My soon to be husband and I are going to adopt him together when we are married and we have a bio-son between us and we would like the children to have same last name. What should we do now as we would like to change his name before he starts school.

  • Re: Name Change of Minor Child in my custody

    You will have to file a petition in the Circuit Court of the county where you live to change your child's name. The petition will be published in a local newspaper to notify anyone wishing to contest this that they have a right to do so. After the time for protest expires, it should be a routine matter to get a court order changing the name.

    Robert Sher
    Wagshal and Sher
    4824 Edgemoor Lane
    Bethesda, MD 20814

  • Re: Name Change of Minor Child in my custody

    Even though you would like to have the child's name changed before he starts to school, the process does take some time and it would make more sense to wait. Instead of filing a separate petition for a name change, you can simply have the name changed as part of the adoption procedure. If the wedding and adoption are expected to take place soon, you might want to inform the school and begin the school year with the new name even though it is not yet official.

    Carolyn Press
    Chung & Press. P.C.
    24 Greene Street
    Cumberland, MD 21502-2927

• How can I legally my last name?

  I have been divorced from my ex husband since 2002, and I would like to change my last name. However, I do not want my maiden name. I would like to change my last name to the father of my child, so my child and I can have the same last name. I know getting married would change the last name, but I do not wish to get married. How can I legally change my last name? I downloaded petition forms for the county I live in from a NY state government website. Can I fill them out and file them myself at no cost or is there a filing fee? Is there anything I need to know about changing my name, and how do I do it? Thank you for your help.Sincerely,C.L.

  • Re: How can I legally my last name?

    Generally there is a fee, I cant tell you what the fee is off the top of my head but the same website you downloaded the form should have that info, andi f not simply contact the clerks office for your county and ask them.

    Carlos Gonzalez
    Law Offices of Carlos Gonzalez
    110 Wall Street; 11th Floor
    New York, NY 10005

• Name Change

  I am not married to the father of my child. He wanted me to give the child his last name at the hospital after the baby was born. After further thought I thought it best to give the child my last name and told him so and made the change on the affidavit of parentage prior to leaving the hospital. The father is now threatening to charge me with forgery. Is this possible since I did tell him I was making the change. I thought I was allowed to change the name within a certain time frame.

  • Re: Name Change

    Did the affidavit require both parents to sign off on it? If the affidavit required both parents' signatures and you signed his name without his permission, then he may have a claim.

    Alton Drew
    Alton Drew, LLC
    500 C Heather Ridge Drive
    Frederick, MD 21702