would like to change step-daughter's name to my last name

[r_seigart]

i would like to know what i need to do to be able to change my step-daughter's name to my last name, but there are a couple other issues i may have to deal with first. for one, her maternal grandmother has legal custody of her but she is residing with myself and my wife (her mom). her mom has no problems legally to be able to regain custody of her. she thinks i need to adopt her to be able to change her name. the biological father is currently incarcerated for sexually molesting 3 of my wifes other daughters. she was told that because of this he lost his rights to his daughter. do we need his permission? please someone help me to figure out what to do.

 

[jacksgal]

A few questions:

Why does Grandma have custody?
What authority does Mom have if Grandma has custody?
Where is Dad?

Expect more questions after you answer these

 

[r_seigart]

grandma was granted temporary custody because the courts thoght it was the safest thing to do . at the time of the molestaion, my wife was not married to the biological father. in order to get him to confess to the crime, she felt she had to marry him to try to get him on tape. she never was able to but he was, never the less, convicted of the crime. he is currently still in jail at this time. she had since divorced but never tried to regain legal custody, but as i've said the child resides with us.

 

[jacksgal]

Then there are two problems

1. Dad (who may still have rights)

2. Grandma who does have rights

You should consult an Attorney as how to proceed if you even can

 

[r_seigart]

when he was found guilty of child molestation charges then the judge took his rights away..he never claimed her anyway,while she was pregnant and even after the baby was born...he was ordered to pay child support when she was 6 months old but never did..dfcs told my wife that they would go to court with her at anytime to give her custody back of her children but she never did do to the fact that the kids had already been through enough at that time...so the issue has never came up...till now..her daughter wants the same last name as me and her mother..

 

[jacksgal]

Ok so Dad has zero rights? This includes not paying support? If hes paying support he still has rights! You still have to Grandma issue. Long as Grandma has legal custody not much is going to change

 

[WhirledPeas]

Dad could have had parental rights removed and still be obligated to pay CS. The document removing dad's rights should be public information and available to obtain.

How long have you been married to the mother? Why is it more important to change the child's name than for mom to establish legal custody? Grandma could remove the child at any time under the current order.

Does Grandma want the child's name changed?

If mom had custody of the child and could show the court that dad had no legal rights, it's simple to change the child's name to whatever mom wanted, regardless of whether you adopt her. Mom can request custody of the child that's with her and leave the others with grandma if she wishes.

 

[r_seigart]

the father has been in prison for 9 years and will be in there until the child turns 17. the courts have already stated that the mother will not be able to recover any back child support. to answer the other questions, i have been married to the mother for over 3 years now. grandma has no problem with a name change and the only reason the mother never changed custody back to her was to allow grandma to use the child for tax purposes (which i don't particularly agree with). the child has asked repeatedly when she will have the same last name as us. she has mom's maiden name by the way. it seems more important to her than anything for this to be done. so you're saying that we don't have to regain custody to be able to change her name? what would need to be done if this is the case?

 

[WhirledPeas]

The paperwork for a name change is available online or via your courts clerk. I'd take mom, grandma, you and the paperwork saying dad lost rights to the courthouse, have mom fill out the forms and everyone available to talk to the judge. It's not a very complicated process, just a few minutes in front of the judge who will say 1. Sure, no problem or 2. Ok, but you need X. Either way, you'll know where you stand.