Changing your own last name is typically a simple request, but petitioning to change the last name of your child is an entirely different and sometimes more arduous process. There is a lot to consider with changing a child’s last name and you have to be prepared to make your case in their best interest.
A recent Appeals Court case addressed the standard when petitioning the court to change the surname of a child; both what should be considered and what should not.
Under G. L. c. 210, § 12, a person may file a name change petition, and typically, the petition “shall be granted unless such a change is inconsistent with public interests.” However, where the petition concerns the surname of a child, “whether born to married or unmarried parents, the ‘best interests’ of the child standard is applicable.” The person filing the petition bears the burden of demonstrating that the name change is in the child’s best interests.
“…whether born to married or unmarried parents, the ‘best interests’ of the child standard is applicable.”
In considering the child’s best interests, some factors to be considered “include the effect of the change of the child’s surname on the preservation and development of the child’s relationship with each parent and other siblings; the length of time the child has utilized a given name; the age of the child as it may relate to his or her identification with the surname; and the difficulties and embarrassment that the child may experience from bearing the present or proposed surname.” This list, however, is not exhaustive. “The allocation of custodial responsibility” should also be considered.
However, “a court should not attribute greater weight to the father’s interest in having the child bear the paternal surname than to the mother’s interest in having the child bear her name.” A father has no more right for a child to bear his surname than does a mother. “Indeed, consideration of parental preference does not appropriately focus the inquiry on what the child needs, nor on the effect on the child of a change in his [or her] surname.”
If you have any questions about petitioning the court for a change of name, please contact one of our attorneys at Ryan Faenza Carey.
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