When a child is adopted is their surname changed immediatly or do the adopters have to change it themselves?

Question

If the adopters have to change it themseleves how do they do that? In the US.

Thanx :)

Answer 1

When the adoption is final they can change the name it is included in the cost i think

Answer 2

When we adopted our son, we were allowed to use his adoptive surname immediately for the purpose of medical insurance, school, etc.  However, it did not legally change until the adoption was finalized.  We could change any part of his name that we wished.  We chose to keep his first name, change his middle name, and of course give him our surname.

Answer 3

The name is changed when the adoption becomes final The lawyer will ask you what you want to name the child and the judge grants it

Answer 4

I was adopted 28 years ago, my birth mother never gave me a name or knew what s*x i was.  i was just called baby(mothers surname) until my Aparents collected me, then everything was finalised in court, and my birth certificate was created with the same name i have today.

Answer 5

Great question. The name is changed upon adoption finalization. Depending upon the state that you reside,.... the common waiting time for a finalized adoption is 6 months. If it is a school aged child many schools will recognize the "new" name in a class room setting. Leaving the legal name in the paperwork upon finalization. The full name can be changed,...not just the last! :)

Answer 6

I think it depends on how old the child in question is.  For example, I was three days old when I was adopted so I never had any birth certificate other than the one my adoptive parents got for me, so in that case my surname never had to be changed.

For older kids I do believe that it has to be changed, but the agency will usually assist with those details and make it part of the adoption procedure.