Ask a Lawyer - Archive

My son was born in NC but we now live in PA I want to have his name changed and have his father listed on his birth certificate. The father on the birth certificate now isn't his real father. I need this done ASAP because my son enters kindergarten this year and doesn't know what his real name or last name is. Help Fast Please.

You may know who the father of your child is, but the state knows too, and in most states the state's answer trumps yours unless the state's daddy wants a change. In most states the only person who can challenge paternity is the putative father. If he's happy being Daddy, and in particular if the child knows him as Daddy, our public policy is to honor that fatherhood relationship even if DNA indicates somebody else was the sperm donor.