Confused and in need of help

Please forgive me if this is posted in the wrong section, but there are so many different things going on with this situation that I'm not sure where ANYTHING goes.

I have a beautiful 2 year old daughter who, unfortunately, has a dead beat for a father. Approximately one year ago, I petitioned her father to court to prove paternity. He did not show. The court then ordered a default judgement stating that he was recognized to be her biological father and ordered to pay 60 dollars a week in child support. He was served with the papers stating this, however, we haven't heard from him since. He is still not listed as the father on the birth certificate, however.

I have since met a man whom I have recently had a child with. We plan to marry soon, and would like to give my daughter his name. My question is, would this be possible without him having to adopt her?

Since there is no father listed on the birth certificate, and we have not heard from her "father" in a year, would we still have to go through the lengthy and expensive procedure for adoption? We haven't got much money, and are doing our best to make ends meet.

Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

eep, sorry about that, forgot to mention the state

So sorry, I forgot to mention that I'm in Tennessee. Forgive me for my absent mindedness, I've got a lot on my mind right now.

You named him as the biodad in your CS filing. He was made dad by default, so he is legally dad (even if he's not, if you know what I mean) because of the court case, even if he is not on the birth certificate. So a formal adoption would need to occur for someone else to become legal dad.

Eep. I was afraid you might say that. Any rough ideas as to how much an adoption such as this one might cost? Sorry to ask so many questions.

Thanks for answering, btw. I was afraid that no one would.

Actually, if ALL you want is a name change, you CAN do that without an adoption. But I really suggest having a year or two of marriage behind you BEFORE going through a name change. It would still require court.

Either the legal father would need to give his permission, or the court would need to approve the name change.

You need to have a stable marriage first for a step-parent adoption.