I have a 5 year old whose father has absolutely refused for the last 5 years to sign a declaration of paternity and add his name to her birth certificate. When she was born I gave her his last name. I want to change her last name to mine, do I need to notify him? There has been no paternity test, no acknowledgment of paternity, his name is not on the birth certificate, there are no open court cases, we have never gone to court. Can I just not notify him since the biological father has never been established? I don't want my child to bear the last name of a man who deserted her, I want her to have the same last name as me since I am the one raising her.

I have a 5 year old whose father has absolutely refused for the last 5 years to sign a declaration of paternity and add his name to her birth certificate. When she was born I gave her his last name. I want to change her last name to mine, do I need to notify him? There has been no paternity test, no acknowledgment of paternity, his name is not on the birth certificate, there are no open court cases, we have never gone to court. Can I just not notify him since the biological father has never been established? I don't want my child to bear the last name of a man who deserted her, I want her to have the same last name as me since I am the one raising her.

Since you are the ONLY parent, you can change her name to whatever you please. To change a child's name, the father does have to be notified. But since paternity is not established, there is NO father to notify.

If paternity is eventually established, he can petition to change the child's name back.