{"id":3143,"date":"2013-08-08T11:43:38","date_gmt":"2013-08-08T17:43:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bgs.com\/?p=3143"},"modified":"2013-08-08T11:43:38","modified_gmt":"2013-08-08T17:43:38","slug":"can-i-change-my-childs-last-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/2013\/08\/08\/can-i-change-my-childs-last-name\/","title":{"rendered":"Can I Change My Child\u2019s Last Name During a Divorce?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>There are many reasons why a parent might wish to apply for a name change on behalf of a minor child during a divorce. Usually, this desire would come from a wife who wishes to revert back to her maiden name and who wishes the child to carry the maiden name as well.<br \/>\nIn order to do this you will almost always need the permission of the other parent. However, there are exceptions.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/bgs.com\/areas-of-practice\/divorce\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-4481 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/bgs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Divorce-150x38.png\" alt=\"Divorce\" width=\"150\" height=\"38\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Several factors will be taken into account. As usual, the courts will try to determine what\u2019s best for the child.<br \/>\nTo this end, the court will ask several questions, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>How long has the child gone by the current last name?<\/li>\n<li>How will changing the child\u2019s last name affect his or her relationship with both parents?<\/li>\n<li>If the child is old enough, what name does the child prefer?<\/li>\n<li>Is there a degree of community respect or notoriety associated with either name?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Given those considerations neither the name change nor its denial are a \u201cdone deal,\u201d especially if there really are compelling reasons why the child might be embarrassed or harassed for bearing the marital surname.<br \/>\nWhat would cause embarrassment or harassment? One example might be in cases where the spouse was involved in a very public criminal case that is well known and has impacted the spouse\u2019s reputation in an extremely negative way.<br \/>\nIt may be easier, however, simply to opt to keep your married surname rather than changing it during the divorce proceedings if it is important for you and your child to share the same last name after your divorce. Your own name change is usually treated as a matter of personal preference by the court.<br \/>\nIf you live in the Minnesota metro area and you\u2019re going through a divorce, <a href=\"https:\/\/bgs.com\">contact BGS today<\/a>. Our experienced, <a href=\"https:\/\/bgs.com\/areas-of-practice\/family-law\/\">compassionate family law attorneys<\/a> can help you navigate the issues of your divorce so that your post-divorce situation is as livable as possible. Call us today!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There are many reasons why a parent might wish to apply for a name change on behalf of a minor child during a divorce. Usually, this desire would come from a wife who wishes to revert back to her maiden name and who wishes the child to carry the maiden name as well. In order to do this you will almost always need the permission of the other parent. However, there are exceptions. Several factors will be taken into account. As usual, the courts will try to determine what\u2019s best for the child. To this end, the court will ask several questions, including: How long has the child gone by the current last name? How will changing the child\u2019s last name affect his or her relationship with both parents? If the child is old enough, what name does the child prefer? Is there a degree of community respect or notoriety associated with either name? Given those considerations neither the name change nor its denial are a \u201cdone deal,\u201d especially if there really are compelling reasons why the child might be embarrassed or harassed for bearing the marital surname. What would cause embarrassment or harassment? One example might be in cases where the spouse was involved in a very public criminal case that is&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[21],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Can I Change My Child\u2019s Last Name During a Divorce? - Barna, Guzy &amp; Steffen, LTD.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/2013\/08\/08\/can-i-change-my-childs-last-name\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can I Change My Child\u2019s Last Name During a Divorce? - Barna, Guzy &amp; Steffen, LTD.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There are many reasons why a parent might wish to apply for a name change on behalf of a minor child during a divorce. Usually, this desire would come from a wife who wishes to revert back to her maiden name and who wishes the child to carry the maiden name as well. In order to do this you will almost always need the permission of the other parent. However, there are exceptions. Several factors will be taken into account. As usual, the courts will try to determine what\u2019s best for the child. To this end, the court will ask several questions, including: How long has the child gone by the current last name? How will changing the child\u2019s last name affect his or her relationship with both parents? If the child is old enough, what name does the child prefer? Is there a degree of community respect or notoriety associated with either name? Given those considerations neither the name change nor its denial are a \u201cdone deal,\u201d especially if there really are compelling reasons why the child might be embarrassed or harassed for bearing the marital surname. What would cause embarrassment or harassment? One example might be in cases where the spouse was involved in a very public criminal case that is...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/2013\/08\/08\/can-i-change-my-childs-last-name\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Barna, Guzy &amp; Steffen, LTD.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-08-08T17:43:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/bgs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Divorce-150x38.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Elizabeth A. Schading\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Elizabeth A. Schading\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/2013\/08\/08\/can-i-change-my-childs-last-name\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/2013\/08\/08\/can-i-change-my-childs-last-name\/\",\"name\":\"Can I Change My Child\u2019s Last Name During a Divorce? - Barna, Guzy &amp; Steffen, LTD.\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-08-08T17:43:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-08-08T17:43:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f593639160f17fde6e6b656a5faec22a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/2013\/08\/08\/can-i-change-my-childs-last-name\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/2013\/08\/08\/can-i-change-my-childs-last-name\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/2013\/08\/08\/can-i-change-my-childs-last-name\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Can I Change My Child\u2019s Last Name During a Divorce?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Barna, Guzy &amp; Steffen, LTD.\",\"description\":\"Attorneys at Law\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f593639160f17fde6e6b656a5faec22a\",\"name\":\"Elizabeth A. Schading\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/7639ebe83cecdf0a13191556b582fd98\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/038a39d4af6745d77d75ac4070209bb2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/038a39d4af6745d77d75ac4070209bb2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Elizabeth A. Schading\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/author\/elizabeth-a-schading\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Can I Change My Child\u2019s Last Name During a Divorce? - Barna, Guzy &amp; Steffen, LTD.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/2013\/08\/08\/can-i-change-my-childs-last-name\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Can I Change My Child\u2019s Last Name During a Divorce? - Barna, Guzy &amp; Steffen, LTD.","og_description":"There are many reasons why a parent might wish to apply for a name change on behalf of a minor child during a divorce. Usually, this desire would come from a wife who wishes to revert back to her maiden name and who wishes the child to carry the maiden name as well. In order to do this you will almost always need the permission of the other parent. However, there are exceptions. Several factors will be taken into account. As usual, the courts will try to determine what\u2019s best for the child. To this end, the court will ask several questions, including: How long has the child gone by the current last name? How will changing the child\u2019s last name affect his or her relationship with both parents? If the child is old enough, what name does the child prefer? Is there a degree of community respect or notoriety associated with either name? Given those considerations neither the name change nor its denial are a \u201cdone deal,\u201d especially if there really are compelling reasons why the child might be embarrassed or harassed for bearing the marital surname. What would cause embarrassment or harassment? One example might be in cases where the spouse was involved in a very public criminal case that is...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/2013\/08\/08\/can-i-change-my-childs-last-name\/","og_site_name":"Barna, Guzy &amp; Steffen, LTD.","article_published_time":"2013-08-08T17:43:38+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/bgs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Divorce-150x38.png"}],"author":"Elizabeth A. Schading","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Elizabeth A. Schading","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/2013\/08\/08\/can-i-change-my-childs-last-name\/","url":"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/2013\/08\/08\/can-i-change-my-childs-last-name\/","name":"Can I Change My Child\u2019s Last Name During a Divorce? - Barna, Guzy &amp; Steffen, LTD.","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-08-08T17:43:38+00:00","dateModified":"2013-08-08T17:43:38+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f593639160f17fde6e6b656a5faec22a"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/2013\/08\/08\/can-i-change-my-childs-last-name\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/2013\/08\/08\/can-i-change-my-childs-last-name\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/2013\/08\/08\/can-i-change-my-childs-last-name\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Can I Change My Child\u2019s Last Name During a Divorce?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/","name":"Barna, Guzy &amp; Steffen, LTD.","description":"Attorneys at Law","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f593639160f17fde6e6b656a5faec22a","name":"Elizabeth A. Schading","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/7639ebe83cecdf0a13191556b582fd98","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/038a39d4af6745d77d75ac4070209bb2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/038a39d4af6745d77d75ac4070209bb2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Elizabeth A. Schading"},"url":"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/author\/elizabeth-a-schading\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3143"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3143"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3143\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3143"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bgs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=3143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}