My question involves name change laws in the State of: TEXAS
My son is 4 years old and has lived with only me since he was 8 months old when his father moved out. He does not see his father but maybe once every 6 months, if that, and is not very close to any of that family because they live in Mississippi. They dont call or write often, and they rarely send gifts at holidays (i think they have 1 time?) It makes me a little sad because I gave him his fathers last name when he was born to keep from hurting the father's feelings. now i feel stupid for doing so especially since we werent married. I get along fine with with all of them, there are no quarrels, and i have a feeling that his father would be ok with a hyphenated last name as opposed to totally changing it to my last name.
I feel as though it will be less confusing for him when he gets older if he at least has my family's last name in his last name somewhere, so that he feels like he is a part of that family too. My parents are divorced and i know how it feels to not have your parents together. If it was me, i would not mind having a hyphenated last name....i would feel like i was a part of both of my parents. And then later on he can decide which name he wants to use. My other reason for wanting to hyphenate his name is because my dad is the last male in his family to carry on his surname. I would like to, out of respect for my father, also let my son carry that name. His extended family is LARGELY involved in his life more than most families are i feel, because he is special needs and we all love him so much. I think there will come a day when he understands that he has a totally different last name, a last name of a family he barely even knows or sees. And i know they love him, just not nearly as much as we do.
So now that i've explained WHY i want his name hyphenated, i need to ask HOW i go about doing this? If his father consents to the hyphenation, what do i need to do first? how much does it cost to get that done? etc etc. Any help at all is greatly appreciated because ive had a hard time finding info online. Thanks!
Rheanna

