My question is sort of the same. My son will be 9 years old soon and he wants to have my last name. I remarried 2 years ago and have a small son. My husband has been my son's father for 4 years now. I never relied on the child support even when it was just me and my son. If it came, I'd take my son out to buy whatever he wanted. I read in some South Carolina laws that I could petition the courts for a name change and if I can prove it's beneficial they'll change it. My ex-husband will never sign off even though he doesn't want our son in his life. He'll stay in it just enough and pay the little bit just in time to avoid having his parental rights terminated. As you'll see from my other posts, my ex had been driving drunk with our son on visits and just recently was involved in a DUI accident with him. He doesn't care about our child. My husband now loves him to death and he's who my son calls 'dad'.

Sorry to go on and on. Anyways, can I petition the courts to just have his name changed and let my son speak? I know in SC the courts will appoint a Guardian Ad Litem for him for this. Or, like 'expertlaw" said, can I just start using my last name as my sons for things or do I have to hypenate it? I know I have to use his legal name for obvious legal papers. I do surf the SC laws but a lot is confusing to me.