How to go about changing my child's last name from her absentee parent's?
My 14 year old has asked that I change her surname from her father's to mine. He, as well as his siblings and parents, have been largely absent from her life. She feels no connection with the family. I was never married to her father but am now married with another child. I kept my maiden name so that my child would not feel out of place being the only member of our family with a different surname. I have asked her father over the years to allow my husband to adopt our child. This would stop the current support that he complains about paying although it will not erase the $20,000 worth of arrears. We live 15 minutes apart and he does not see or call our child unless she initiates it and then he usually brushes her off. He also will not consent to the name change.