Boyfriend wants to change his last name. which would be easier and/or cheaper? plz read?

Question

He wants to have his stepfathers last name because his dad is worthless and a sorry excuse for a father. Which would be the better way to go price wise and time wise? adult adoption or just a last name change? We are wanting to get married soon and need to get this done first. Thanks !

Answer 1

He can change his name to anything he wants if he is not trying to avoid the law.

Any legal way he wants to change his name should cost the same.

Answer 2

heres a link on Wikipedia that tells you everything you need to know about changing his last name

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Name_change

Answer 3

I would think it would be cheaper and easier just to change his last name.

Answer 4

I was adopted and I have also as an adult changed my entire legal name.

So, what is the reason.  Does he just want to identify with his step-father.  If so, just change the name.   It costs about $500.00 in most states to file with the courts for a name change and then there is usually a paper work fee and it varies from state to state.  Then you have to get an amended birth certificate, get at leasst two of them when you do it, and they cost anywhere from $20.00 each to $50.00 each in various states.   You  have to go get a new social security card after you have the court document granting you the name change.  No cost, but time consuming.  They'll issue a new social security card, not a new number, just a new card with the new name on it.   You also have to get a new driver's license right away, usually within ten days of the name change and that costs, just call your local DMV and ask what a new driver's license costs.   Mine was $25.00.    You have take time to get every single document changed.  Credit Unions normally will not charge to make the change over on your account, but you will need new checks if you use them and they'll issue you all new cards.   Banks on the other hand charge a lot for everything to be changed over, and it depends on the bank how much those fees would be.  Go in person and talk to your bank and or credit union so you know.  You'll have to change every credit card you have, some will charge, some will not.   MAKE SURE when changing the name on the account, that you make sure the old information is correct and get's correctly put into the account.  Some will require a new account, some will just change the name.   You are best if you can first close out all old accounts as paid in full; saves a lot of hassel.   You'll need to get insurance companies know, make sure to do it within 24 hours and make sure they have received your payment for the month first or with the new name, you send off a check and it may not get acredited to the right account.    Many church's require all records me changed over.  I am LDS so I got with my bishop before hand and let him know to get the clerk to type up a new name into my records, then I checked back after the name change to make sure it was done correctly.

I didn't have a tax issue, but I have been told that doing it half way through a tax season, can make fileing the next years taxes hard as you have to make sure to put both the old name and the new name and have someone who knows how to do it correctly, so it doesn't look like you are fileing for two people.

It is best to do this befroe you are married and give it a few months to make sure all changes have been done, that the old name isn't on any existing account.    The name change can for a few months cause problems with your credit, as the new name will not always show up right away on your credit report, so if you go to buy a house, you need to tell them that your credit report may still come back with the old name on it and not the new one.

NOW if your boyfriend wants to have his step-father be his dad, then he needs to go ahead with the adopt.  The good thing is, is if he's 18 or older, he doesn't have to prove the other father an unfit parent.  He does have to get the father to say it's okay or there will have to be a hearing in which the judge will decide if he has the right to be adopted.   Most of the time, they let you go ahead, figuring you are an adult and know what you want.   Especially if the step father raised him for several years of his life.   Adoption does require an attorney and it can be costly; would the step father be willing to split the cost?  If so, you both still need to talk with legal aid, or if you have a free nigh bar, as in free legal advice in your town, they could get you the costs, as it varies from county to county and state to state what fees you have to pay and what an attorney is going to charge you.  

If you are of a religion where you believe in eternal families like I do, then having the step father adopt him so that is his legal father would be important.  

So name change alone or adoption depends on what he wants out of it.  Does he want to legally be his step father's son or does he just want to have his name so people think the step father is his legal father.    If you get adopted and the birth father's rights are absolved, the good thing would be that he could never claim grandfather rights to see any children the two of you have once you are married, where if the biological father does remain the legal father, then as a grandfather he can be an *** and insist on seeing grandchildren and many states now have laws that say grandparents have the right to see grandkids.    

As for price; just a name change once you pay for any documents to be changed that musst be changed you are looking at around $1,000.00.    If you look at an adopt as an adult it could be anywhere from $5,000 and up.   If you qualify for legal aid, it would be much less.   If you can get an attorney in your church to help, you could save a lot.  That is what I did and he provided his services for free to me.   So I had no legal fees and because I'm poor, I had minimal court fees.  

As for time, it does take time and it depends on how full your family courts are.  Here in Utah I had to only wait one month after my attorney filed papers to go to court, prove I had a reason to change my name and get the court to grant me the name change.   If your court system is overwhelmed as some are in large cities in the US, you could end up waiting for three or more months to get a court date.  

Do not get married right after the name change; give yourselves three months to make sure all legal changes are showing up and the old name is no longer showing up on accounts or you'll have problems when he then adds your name on to shared accounts excetra.  

I made sure I had no open credit accounts, all were paid off except with my Credit Union and they changed it all in one day when I took the court paper in and showed them the order for the name change.   Make sure to send to one major Credit beauro a copy of your name change, there are three major ones.   They share information, so you get it right with one, it's corrected with all threee. WHY?  Becuase I dind't and they kept combining my old name and new one and the attorney had to write htem and say, Her name isn't ... it's ... and it took him literally threatening to sue, before they put the correct name on my credit history.  

Take the time now to go to your bank, credit union, and every company you have an open account with and ask them what they will need as proof of the name change.  Can they just change the name on the account or do you need to open a new account.  If you ahve to open a new account, will the old one have to first be paid off in full.   If you own a car you'll have to get the title changed, so ask them how long after you get your name change it would take them to issue you a title under the new name.  

Write a list of every open account you have and contact them in person if you can; if not write a brief but percise letter asking them how they would handle the name change, what proof they'll need and if they can just change the name on your account or will they have to issue you a new account and all costs assocaited therewith.

I spent two full days running around, going in person to make sure everything was changed over to the new name.   I was thankful I had only a few accounts.  

Just look at everything that has his name on it, accounts, P.O. BOXES, credit cards, bank accounts, credit union accounts, his birth certificate either way will have to reflect the name change and needs done right away, I went to our state office in person, so I could get it the same day, if they are busy you could spend the day just getting that one thing done.  YOu have to get hte new social security card, and depending on how busy the office is, you could be in liine for hours to submit the court papers and then they'll send you a new one.  

Go an hour before Social Security Office in your area opens so you can be the first in line.  You go even fifteen minutes after they open and believe me, you can already have a long line to wait in, taking hours of your day.  

Get the Social Security changed over; then the birth certificate, then your new driver's license and then anything else to do with your car, such as insurance, vehicle registration, etc.

If he's been in college yet, he'll want to go there and make sure the credits are all transfered over to his new name.

You have to really want it and do it right, whether he choses adoption, which of court the step father must agree to and the biological father will either have to be proven to have been unfit and the judge say you can do it even if he says no or the step father can sign a legal document giving up all rights to your boyfriend, which is best.  But your boyfriend must then realize, he has no claims once his father signs that paper, to any inheritence, even if his biological father won millions, then died, he could make no claim to any of his biological fathers properties, money left at the time of his death.  

Good luck, it does take time, write a list, go over it, make sure every old account that can be closed out is closed out.  Every open account is listed and you know what hte cost to change the name on it will be or if you will have to open a new one.   The Utility companies here in Utah, simply deleted my old name and put the new one on the old account, no charge.

If you all got on this right now, had the cash needed for an attorney and the court fees, all the fees to change things tha need to be changed over and cost.  You could have this all done and know everything is okay with his information on accounts, within six months.

Take care, choose wisely what you do.

Answer 5

A better way to go is to do the adult adoption.  Your BF gains certain rights including inheritance, ability to make medical decisions (as well as have them made for him), burial decisions and a few others that I can't think of at the moment.  While you may gain some of these rights when you marry, he still retains the right to determine health care should his stepdad be unable to make those decisions.

The disadvantage, of course, is that he is no longer able to inherit from his Dad unless the Dad specifically lists him in the will (and the other siblings can contest it since he is now legally a 'stranger.'). When his father dies, he has no say in anything legally.  That may not matter to him, but it is something he should know about.

A name change is just that. Change of name.  No change of rights.

As far as easier/cheaper, both are easy and shouldn't be very expensive.  Change of name requires that you publish it 3 times in a local paper. You just have to have your stepfather agree to the adoption and come to court.