Quote Quoting aardvarc
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If two kids have two different fathers, why SHOULD the last names match? Unless one father legally adopts the other child, his name has no business attached to the child that isn't his. Last names get established based on the person whose DNA was chosen to father the child - not on who they live with, or who would like to be perceived as the father, how well or poorly a parent functions as a parent. Dad doesn't even have to prove that it's in the child's best interest, only that he IS the father. To challenge the presumption that the child should have his last name, the burden would be on you to prove that it's in the CHILD'S best interest to NOT have dad's last name (and unless dad's last name is Dahmer, Hitler, or Bin Laden, that's incredibly difficult to prove and thus in 99% of cases fathers prevail). Simply wanting a child to have the same last name as a half-sibling isn't enough to over-ride dad's rights.
Hi, thanks for the response. I was a bit confused about the part about one father legally adopting the child. I was never married to either father - my first child was from a 5 year relationship that I was in many years ago. So the kids would both have my name, as in the name I've always had - not a name that I obtained during a previous marriage. Just wanted to clarify that. I don't really understand how a child having the dad's last name is in the best interest (not saying that you said it is) - if anything, I would think a hyphenated name would be best for any child, especially if mom and dad both want the child to have their name.

Oh - and I mentioned his parenting skills because a friend in a different state mentioned that her ex's claim that the child needed his last name was denied in court due to his poor parenting skills - he admitted that he never helped care for the child financially and rarely saw the child. I wasn't sure if that was a common thing or varied from state to state.