Name Change of Minor in State of Texas

My question involves name change laws in the State of: Texas

My daughter is 7 years old and has a hyphenated name on her birth certificate. I was not married to the biological father and I have soul conservatorship of my daughter. The biological father is not involved in her life. He did have a court approved supervised visit once a month but has not seen my daughter in over two years. He was arrested for Capital Murder. He has been convicted and is now serving a life sentence without parole. The only name my daughter knows is my maiden name. The biological father's name is the first part of the hyphenated name, therefore all legal documents are listed with his name first. I would like the hyphenated name to be changed to my maiden name. I would like the name changed now primarily because of school. My daughter will be in the second grade next year and I would really like to get this done before next school year.

Can you tell me if I even need the bio fathers consent since he is now in prison? Can I have the name changed on the birth certificate? Would we have to go to court to get this done?

Any info will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

You need his consent, or you need to convince the court that the name change is in the child's best interest. Yes, the name change process is a judicial process.