[D_Johnson82]

The story goes, my father was not at the hospital when I was born (in 1982) so my mother was not able to give me his last name nor put his name on my birth record because they were not married. My father died before the paper work could be completed and signed. I want to honor my dad by adding his last name to mine and adding him to my birth records. How do I go about doing so? Will this be an expensive and time consuming event?

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Mr. Knowitall]

Laws are different in each state, but I am skeptical that you'll be able to establish paternity and have your father added to your birth certificate given that you're well past your 18th birthday and he's deceased. If you wish, you can change your surname to his.

[D_Johnson82]

Im sorry, Im located in the state of Michigan. When I looked into the name change, there were two different forms for name change. Im not sure which form I need to fill out. There is a form to change birth record, add father to record and change name and a change name form. Plus, do I have get fingerprinted before I can get the name change and how long does the court process usually take?

[aaron]

There's a guide to the name change process here.