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    Default How to Change My Last Name to the One I Use

    My question involves paternity law for the State of: New York

    I am a 30 year old male.

    I recently found out my last name as listed on my birth certificate is different from the one I have used my whole life (including on credit cards, everything...). I believe it was changed when I was a child as part of an illegal attempt by my mom to get child support from a man who is not my father.

    How do I get my last name corrected? And what's the right way to accomplish this since it was changed illegally? Is it important for me to correct the listed father on my birth certificate?

    • Do I file the name change as an error (correcting a mistake seems impossible to do without the help of both named parents), or
    • Do I just legally change my name? (like I was changing it for any other reason)


    If I do just change my name, will this have ramifications later, due to my unique situation?

    More info:

    I recently found out the copy of my birth certificate I've been using is not a legal copy, so I ordered a certified copy from the state of New York. This was quite a hassle, they told me that the information I was giving them was wrong. I had to speak to many people over several weeks for them to get me my birth certificate. I didn't understand why until I finally got the certificate.

    On the birth certificate, I found out two things.

    1.) The name of my father on my birth certificate was somehow changed after I was born to a man who I know is not my father, a man who my mother met years after I was born (and the father of my youngest sister)
    2.) The last name I've been using my whole life is not the one listed on the birth certificate. It was altered after I was born to be hyphenated with the last name if this new named father

    I believe all this was done by my mother when I was about 8 or 9 years old in an illegal attempt to get additional child support from this man. I know she was arrested soon after this time. I also know she has some sort of warrant out for her arrest for trying to get child support illegally, and she is currently been hiding out in another state because of this. I haven't talked to her in years and I don't know how to contact that man who is named as my father. I don't have any relationship with my real father (who I don't know if was ever listed on my birth certificate).

    It's really hard to find answers on how to proceed. Does anyone have suggestions on where to start, or what type of lawyer to get? I currently live across the country on the west coast, but I can make a trip to New York if needed.

    Summary: I just want to get my last name changed to the one I've been using my whole life. It was changed illegally. Do I try to correct everything by filing this as an error on my birth certificate and getting the illegal changes removed, or would the best route be just to get a regular name change and be done with the whole thing? Does it really matter to me if the wrong name is listed as my father on my birth certificate?

    Thanks for any help!

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