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Can My Wife Legally Choose Another Last Name for Our Baby when Born

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  • 10-26-2010, 10:31 AM
    Texastrev
    Can My Wife Legally Choose Another Last Name for Our Baby when Born
    My question involves paternity law for the State of: Texas

    We are married and are expecting in January. In December we will have been married for 3 years and she has a daughter out of wedlock. Due to disagreements on discipline in the household, and after repeated attempts to work something out, I have delayed in adopting my step-daughter. I want to adopt her. We talked again about it this summer and my wife said that emotionally cannot handle dealing with the biological father for the procedures of me adopting her daughter. So, I agreed to wait. We currently do not have a way to contact the biological father. anyway ....

    My wife resents me not adopting her daughter. In the past months when angry she has said that she will give our daughter her daughter's last name instead of our married last name. Well, she has recently mentioned it again in passing and I do believe she really intends to carry this out.

    Can anyone help me find the law on this? From what I can see in comments, she would have the right to put whatever last name if she was not married. I would like to see something in writing where our married last name is what will be on the birth certificate. I can only imagine the way she could put otherwise is if she denied I was the biological father, which I am 100% sure I am.

    Thanks
  • 10-27-2010, 06:49 PM
    Mr. Knowitall
    Re: Can My Wife Legally Choose Another Last Name for Our Baby when Born
    I don't see anything in Texas law that requires the mother to obtain the father's consent to the surname she lists on the application for a birth certificate, although I grant I may have missed a provision somewhere in the statutes.
  • 10-27-2010, 09:47 PM
    Texastrev
    Re: Can My Wife Legally Choose Another Last Name for Our Baby when Born
    Thanks for your time in checking. I'm going to keep looking for the statutes onlne for something specific.
  • 10-27-2010, 09:50 PM
    Dogmatique
    Re: Can My Wife Legally Choose Another Last Name for Our Baby when Born
    I'm sorry to ask this but....you said YOU are 100% sure the child is yours biologically.

    Is your wife?
  • 12-04-2010, 10:55 PM
    FOMOM
    Re: Can My Wife Legally Choose Another Last Name for Our Baby when Born
    I live in Texas and I was told that I did not have to put my husbands name on the birth certficate nor did I. We were seperated but not legally divorced.

    My situation was very different though.

    Paternity test can prove whether you're the father or not, so there is no denying you rights, but as far as luck with having the child take your last name...I would just keep researching and see what you can find and whether or not you can challenge it.
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