Changing my LAST name?

Question

I'm 19

I live in South Carolina

I want my family last name, also my moms current last name, instead of my biological fathers last name.

What do i have to do to legally change my last name to my moms?

Does my "father" have to be involved?

Is me wanting to carry on my family last name instead of his enough reason for the change?

Answer 1

You do not have to change you last name to carry on your mother's lineage on.  That is what men are for (her brothers, Uncles, Male cousins, etc.  What would do when you decided to get married?  Most men are traditional and I think your future husband would want you to have his last name.  Although you can hyphenate.

You referred to your "father" as biological.  I can assume that you don't have a relationship with him and don't care to.  That's your chioce.  Just be real honest about the real reason you want to change your last name.  

Check with you town clerk.  Fees for name changing are different for every state.

Good Luck

Answer 2

In my state in California you call the clerk at the county courthouse. You fill out a form and pay $320. You also take out a "Legal Notice" in a local newspaper for four weeks. That cost is in addition to the $320. If no one objects, you get your decree.

Every time you apply for a new passport, driver's license, etc you will need to mail in or show a notarized copy of the decree. If you have to mail one in and don't get it back, chalk up another $25 or so.

The procedure is the same in all counties in California, although the cost may vary. I suspect the procedure is the same in most states in the USA, although the cost and the length of time may vary.

You may have to wait until you are 21. At that point if Bio dad objects, you can say "Fiddle dee dee". The only objections allowed are if you are doing it to defraud creditors or otherwise cheat; changing it to "Garcia"  ["Oleson" . . . ] and applying for a scholarship that is only for people of Hispanic [Norwegian . . .] heritage, for instance.

Call the clerk at your courthouse.

Answer 3

I don't have an answer but an opinion. I think what you're doing is very honorable. I wish I had gotten my mom's last name. I'm very anti-traditional, and my open-minded mom and aunt are actually encouraging me to keep my name when I get married. So, that's what I plan on doing. I even plan on giving my kids both mine and my husband's name. I work in the television field, and a few women in my office have kept their names.

Why should it always be the male's name passed down? Are us females not important? I like hearing when a man changes his name to his wife's or hyphenates with her. Now, that's what I call a real man. Hopefully, in time, more people (esp. men) will snap out of their outdated traditionalist ways.