How to Show to the Court the Best Interest of Child in Contested Name Change of Minor

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

My daughter is 13 & her biological father waited until she was 12 before trying to have any contact or develop a relationship with her. He is not on her birth certificate because he refused to be a part of her life. We were never married so I gave her my maiden name (ex. Smith). There is a child support order which has identified him as her biological father through paternity testing. He complies with half of the order (pays monthly but never provided medical insurance as ordered) to avoid consequences such as garnishment & driver's license suspension (his license is currently suspended due to failure to pay back child support). In the last 16 months he has only seen her 7 times. He calls her for 2-5 minutes at a time so there's no real conversation there and he's been out of the country for the last 6 months.

In the last 12 years I have married & had 2 more children. From the day I married, my daughter called my husband Daddy and put my husband's name (ex. Jones) on her school papers as her own although we told her she did not have to do either. I didn't want her to feel left out when I changed my name after getting married so I hyphenated my name (Smith Jones). However, now that she has 2 siblings, she wants her name to reflect the relationship she has with her brothers, the family who has raised her, cared for her, and to whom she feels the greatest connection. She wants her last name to match mine (Smith Jones) so I have made a petition to the court change her name to match mine.

The biological father is protesting this name change & telling her that he will change her name to his whether she likes it or not (he has not filed a counter petition, only an answer contesting the request). He tells her that the man she calls dad is not a real father among a few other disparaging comments about her family. Things that shouldn't be said to a child.

I understand that the court may or may not grant my request but I must show that the name change is in her best interest. I understand that the fact the biological father has been a crappy absentee father does not change the fact that he is still biologically her father so that may not be enough to demonstrate that burden. So the question is, how do I show that this request is in her best interest?

especially due to the current state of society and the propensity of blended families, a court generally does not allow a name change for the reasons you give. If you didn't want the child to have a different name, why didn't you leave yours what it was?



The child is likely to end up with a hyphenated name using the child's given birth name and the father's name, or at best (for you) retain the name as it is.

Please don't make your child a hyphen. Though she is to young to realize it now, when she applies for jobs and the hyphenated name is on the application/resume, it sticks out like a blatant caution the person is different, in some creepy or pretentious manner.

Thank you for your response. I changed my name after I married to show honor both to my daughter and to my husband. But it's not my last name that I'm asking about. Unfortunately, your answer does not address my original question. I have read that I must show that the request to change my child's name must be in her best interest but I have not found any information that suggests how to show best interest in name change issues. I've only been able to find info on showing best interest in child custody issues and we're not dealing with that yet. So how do I demonstrate this request is in her best interest to the court? What facts are relevant to that determination? Are similar criteria used for best interest in name changes as in custody issues?

The problem: it isn't in the best interest of the child. It is in you and your husbands best interest. The child has no legal attachment to the name. You trying to toss the unrelated moniker upon her actually removes her from her legal roots n if you want the child to have your last name, look towards adoption by the step-father, if the legal father is accepting.

Adn yes, this is about your last name. Your daughter already has one, the same one you gave up when you took your husbands last name. Maybe if you had not abandoned that name, and as such, your daughter, this would not currently be an issue.

I think I will take the advice you provide in your signature & ignore your advice JK. If you read my first post carefully you would have noticed that I specifically said that it was my daughter requesting this change. She began using my husband's name without any prompting from me or anyone else. If she had asked for her biological father's name I would have supported her in that request. This is not about me or what I want and has always been about my daughter. To say that she has no legal attachment to the name which we are requesting is not entirely accurate either. She does have 2 siblings with the name & this fact also fuels her desire for the change. Thanks for your opinion anyway JK.

If anyone else has any legal experience and relevant advice, I would love to hear it.

Thanks.

Sorry, you may not like what JK is saying, but he is pretty much right. Absent the biodad giving up rights and allowing adoption, you're not going to convince a court that a pseudo-adoption through name change is in the child's interest. You can't cut this corner (Believe me I do understand how it is, I raised two children starting when they were 3 and 6 from my wife's first marriage).

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Quoting momstrong

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My daughter is 13 & her biological father waited until she was 12 before trying to have any contact or develop a relationship with her. He is not on her birth certificate because he refused to be a part of her life.

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You indicate later that paternity was legally established, so if he's not on the birth certificate it's a ministerial oversight. That should be corrected.

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Quoting momstrong

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We were never married so I gave her my maiden name (ex. Smith)

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If the child has never shared a surname with her biological father, then he has less of a basis to dispute a name change.

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Quoting momstrong

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From the day I married, my daughter called my husband Daddy and put my husband's name (ex. Jones) on her school papers as her own although we told her she did not have to do either. I didn't want her to feel left out when I changed my name after getting married so I hyphenated my name (Smith Jones). However, now that she has 2 siblings, she wants her name to reflect the relationship she has with her brothers, the family who has raised her, cared for her, and to whom she feels the greatest connection. She wants her last name to match mine (Smith Jones) so I have made a petition to the court change her name to match mine.

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You later indicate to jk that "I specifically said that it was my daughter requesting this change", but the history here makes clear that it was your idea for the child to use your current husband's surname. I can understand why that has become natural, and why the child wants her name to match yours, but just as the biological father's historic relative indifference is relevant, your role in the history is also relevant to why the child feel's that way.

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Quoting momstrong

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The biological father is protesting this name change & telling her that he will change her name to his whether she likes it or not (he has not filed a counter petition, only an answer contesting the request). He tells her that the man she calls dad is not a real father among a few other disparaging comments about her family. Things that shouldn't be said to a child.

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I don't think he would succeed in an effort to change her last name, given his acquiescence to her use of your surname throughout her life and his choice at prior opportunities to let that practice continue.

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Quoting momstrong

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So the question is, how do I show that this request is in her best interest?

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If your legal surname is now the hyphenated surname, the child has never shared a surname with her biological father, and the child wants her surname to match yours in order to better reflect her relationship with her half-siblings, then that would appear to be the gist of your argument.

The school records thing is interesting. Back in the day, it was not at all unusual for a stepchild to be enrolled under a stepparent's surname, despite the child's having a different legal name, but these days schools usually insist upon enrollment under the child's legal name. If the child is enrolled under her legal name but the school merely follows the practice of using her stepfather's surname, then there's no issue with her school records. If they somehow enrolled her using a surname other than her legal surname, that's an issue you would want to clear up.

Thanks flyingiron. I understand both what JK & you are trying to say. I'm just looking for relevant legal facts that may be presented to show best interest not an opinion on whether or not people agree with the petition or what others think the court will or will not do. We're not trying to cut any corners or even to cut her bio dad out, which is why we haven't requested step-parent adoption or attempted to terminate parental rights. I submitted the petition to support my daughter. I understand the court may not agree with our petition and have explained that possible outcome to her as well. She is worth the money & the effort to try even if the court denies our request.

If no one knows the answer to my questions, it's ok not to reply. The questions I want answered are only these:
So how do I demonstrate this request is in her best interest to the court? What facts are relevant to that determination? Are similar criteria used for best interest in name changes as in custody issues (as in FL statute 61.13)?

hi momstrong I do understand your position and I believed you can do the change I read your post and since you have not been married with her biological father and he does not appear on her birth certificate you have the right over your daughter. Because you are providing her a stable environment and healthy family life style if you husband is supporting this why not to try it. Also go to a family attorney and make sure to have a proof of everything you will say to the court it can help to your case "pictures of your family". wish you good luck!!!