[dbranjam]

I had a child 11 years ago. I have been with his father for 13 years. He was there for the birth but did not have proper Id when my son was born, and since we were not married could not give him his last name.
When we marrried, he was told that he would have to legally adopt his own child, is that true? If it is, what are the streps in having my sons name changed. Fathers name was left empty. What are the laws for Louisiana about this matter.
Any reply would be great

Thank you

[aaron]

They may have been thinking that your choice would be between brining a paternity action and arranging the adoption, and that the adoption would be cheaper, easier, and more private. However, I think your best approach is probably under the Louisiana Legitimation statute:

A. If any child born in this state was legitimated by the subsequent marriage of its parents, the state registrar, upon receipt of a copy of the marriage certificate of the parents together with a notarized statement of the husband acknowledging the child's paternity, shall prepare a new certificate of birth in the new name of the child wherein the child's surname shall be that of his father or if both the father and mother agree, the surname may be the maiden name of the mother or a combination of the surname of the husband and the maiden name of the mother.

B. If at the time of legitimation the child shall have reached the age of majority, the state registrar shall require an affidavit to be obtained from the district attorney of the place of residence and domicile of the said major child, wherein the district attorney shall state any objections, if any exist, to the name change aspects, prior to the preparation of a new certificate of birth. If there be no objection by the district attorney, the state registrar shall issue a new certificate to the major child. If there be an objection, the state registrar may not proceed to prepare a new certificate until the district attorney's objection, if any, has been resolved.

C. The new certificate of birth shall be signed by the child's father prior to its recordation in the vital records registry and only after such signing and recordation may certified copies or short form birth certification cards be issued as in the case of all other birth records.

D. The child's original birth certificate and the evidence upon which the new certificate was made shall be sealed in a package or envelope and filed in the archives of the vital records registry of the division of vital records. This sealed package or envelope may be opened only pursuant to an order of the civil district court for good cause.

E. Upon presentation of any other form of legitimation or acknowledgment permitted by the laws of this state, together with a request for an alteration of an original certificate of birth, the matter will be processed in accordance with rules and regulations of the vital records registry promulgated pursuant to R.S. 40:33(C).