What is the name of your state? KY
Hi. I am new to the forum and not quite certain where this question should be placed. However, since this issue was originally addressed by the courts during a visitation dispute, I decided to post it here.
My stepdaughter is 4 years old. Her mother and my husband were not married when she was born. My step-daughter shared the last name of her mother until her mother married in 2005 (after which time the mother assumed the last name of her husband). Since 2005 my husband has made numerous attempts at trying to persuade the mother to change the child's last name (or at least hyphenate it), particularly after both I and the mother gave birth to the child's siblings, neither of which share my step-daughter's name. The problem lies in the fact that in 2005 the mother moved to Louisiana. One lawyer advised us to wait to take the mother to court until after she moved, telling us that having to return to Kentucky would encourage her to comply. That did not work. Another lawyer took our case to court, but the judge ruled that since the child is now a resident of Louisiana, Kentucky courts had no jurisdiction. We contacted a lawyer in Louisiana who said the name change could be done to the tune of about $2500.00. He advised that my husband make another attempt to persuade the mother to change the name, as it would be cheaper since we could then file it in Kentucky. My husband made another attempt to talk to the mother, and she agreed to hyphenate the name. My husband contacted the Louisiana lawyer who told us that since the mother agreed, we should now go through the Kentucky court system.
My question is this: The court in Kentucky ruled the change (or at least the hearing for the name change) would have to occur in Louisiana since the child is technically a resident of Louisiana, but the Louisiana lawyer said it should go through Kentucky courts since the child was born in Kentucky. Which state is the appropriate state to file? In addition, the child was born in one county, but the visitation and child support was established in a different county after the mother moved (she married into the military). In which county should we file-- the one on her birth certificate or the one where paternity, visitation, etc. was established? We are getting little to no help from our Kentucky lawyer or Louisiana lawyer (frankly I think my husband should fire both as they both seem useless).
For the record: This is not a petty vendetta against the mother because she got married. My husband had ended the relationship with the mother prior to his finding out about her pregnancy. My husband began paying child support the week his daughter was born, he has paid medical bills, and until the time the mother and daughter moved from Kentucky, he and I (and his parents) had physical custody as much (if not more) than the mother. Of course this was not court-ordered but rather served as a convenience to the mother. At any rate, since he now only sees her twice a year, he feels it is important to have as much connection to the child as possible (particularly since he now has another daughter who does share his name). Therefore, any help would be greatly appreciated!
Hi. I am new to the forum and not quite certain where this question should be placed. However, since this issue was originally addressed by the courts during a visitation dispute, I decided to post it here.
My stepdaughter is 4 years old. Her mother and my husband were not married when she was born. My step-daughter shared the last name of her mother until her mother married in 2005 (after which time the mother assumed the last name of her husband). Since 2005 my husband has made numerous attempts at trying to persuade the mother to change the child's last name (or at least hyphenate it), particularly after both I and the mother gave birth to the child's siblings, neither of which share my step-daughter's name. The problem lies in the fact that in 2005 the mother moved to Louisiana. One lawyer advised us to wait to take the mother to court until after she moved, telling us that having to return to Kentucky would encourage her to comply. That did not work. Another lawyer took our case to court, but the judge ruled that since the child is now a resident of Louisiana, Kentucky courts had no jurisdiction. We contacted a lawyer in Louisiana who said the name change could be done to the tune of about $2500.00. He advised that my husband make another attempt to persuade the mother to change the name, as it would be cheaper since we could then file it in Kentucky. My husband made another attempt to talk to the mother, and she agreed to hyphenate the name. My husband contacted the Louisiana lawyer who told us that since the mother agreed, we should now go through the Kentucky court system.
My question is this: The court in Kentucky ruled the change (or at least the hearing for the name change) would have to occur in Louisiana since the child is technically a resident of Louisiana, but the Louisiana lawyer said it should go through Kentucky courts since the child was born in Kentucky. Which state is the appropriate state to file? In addition, the child was born in one county, but the visitation and child support was established in a different county after the mother moved (she married into the military). In which county should we file-- the one on her birth certificate or the one where paternity, visitation, etc. was established? We are getting little to no help from our Kentucky lawyer or Louisiana lawyer (frankly I think my husband should fire both as they both seem useless).
For the record: This is not a petty vendetta against the mother because she got married. My husband had ended the relationship with the mother prior to his finding out about her pregnancy. My husband began paying child support the week his daughter was born, he has paid medical bills, and until the time the mother and daughter moved from Kentucky, he and I (and his parents) had physical custody as much (if not more) than the mother. Of course this was not court-ordered but rather served as a convenience to the mother. At any rate, since he now only sees her twice a year, he feels it is important to have as much connection to the child as possible (particularly since he now has another daughter who does share his name). Therefore, any help would be greatly appreciated!
