This is an interesting topic that recently came up in our office. Typically, one's gut instinct is Dad's of course. However, that is not the case. According to MCL 333.224, if the parents sign an Acknowledgement of Paternity or are married the surname of a child is designated by a child's parents which can be done unilaterally; the mother designates the surname of thier child if the court determines paternity.
If you are the father and your child does not have your last name you may be wondering if there is anything you can do about it. You can. The party desiring the child's surname changed must show it is in child's best interest under MCL 722.23 (Garling v Spiering, 203 Mich App 1, 512 NW2d 12 (1993).
If you have any legal questions please feel free to email them to eklavenski@jwbissell.com and the next blog may answer your question.
No comments:
Post a Comment