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Points of proving Best Interest of Child in Forced Name Change

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txmomof2

Member
I agree and I'm certainly not telling her not to do it- only my own experience in the matter.

My thing is, I wish I had fought a little harder - maybe gotten an attorney involved, and had someone else fight it for me.

I just find the laws about name change to be antiquated and outdated. There are a lot of kids out there carrying a family name of a family they don't even know. I don't think that's right.

So for the OP- get an atty if you don't want it changed and FIGHT IT.
 


nextwife

Senior Member
And maybe if the dad hadn't felt so irrelevant and that no matter WHAT he did, legally, he'd be excluded by mom, he might have ultimately been more involved. You can't know if this defiance was the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak. Think about what signal your refussal may have sent dad? Maybe the entire relationship may have been different. Not that it's RIGHT, but the psychology of this may have been very relevant with dad.
 

txmomof2

Member
Nextwife, maybe to a man who DOES or DID care, it would matter- but to the NCP in my situation? Never. He has never cared. I have not and would not have EVER stopped him from having any type of relationship with his son- ever. That's why it took me 2 years after my son was born to even consider filing for support- because I wanted him to have the opportunity to do it himself, willingly.

Had I thought for one single moment that his "wanting" a name change was because he WANTED the child's name changed, I would have done it. Hell, he could have pursued it if it were that important to him.

My point is this: The courts are very quick to change a child's name without any thought or regard to the involvement that man may or may not have with his child.

The NCP in my case also had court ordered rights to visitation which, 13 years later, has used exactly zero times.
 

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