Back to the beginning: In California my child's father and I were living together for about 2 years. Our child was born and we were planning on staying together and in fact getting married, so the child was given his last name with him signing paternity papers. When our child was 2 months the father move out due to not having a job in order to help to support our household of three, all on top of the fact that he refused to stop smoking weed to do so and in order to get a job (he was in fact denied a job offer from Wal-Mart due to a positive drug piss test prior to employment). I stayed in the state for 6 months after him moving out. During those six months, he still refused to clean up his act and even when he came around to see ME he didn't acknowledge our child's presence. With all that, I needed to live elsewhere to move on with my life and make it better for both my kid and me, so I moved out of state.
We have now been in North Dakota for over 6 years and am doing rather much better with myself and my now 2 children. The father still has had nothing to do with me or my child in all this time and now that my child is in school it rather irritates me to see my child with a different last name as myself and their younger sibling, let alone of a person who cares nothing for my child due to their voluntary absence. I have had the same number all this time, which I did in fact give to him immediately after I left and moved up here.
The fact that the father has had nothing to do with my child for 6+ years now, no contact nor paid the rather small amount he owes monthly in support for years now, as well as refraining from my child having the feeling of being different and left out of our little family due to the difference in last names from both me and their younger sibling, I am in dire need to change the name. I have no way in order to be able to contact him. I do believe he is still in CA last known city of residence is LA but we have no address or phone number to contact him with.
I have heard about a newspaper thing, but need the details pertaining to it as wells as where I would get the papers to take that action and such.
So my question is: what measures would I be able to take in order to change my child’s last name due to these circumstances? Someone please help my child and me!

