Family law cases in New York City can involve numerous complicated and difficult issues, requiring careful planning and preparation for emotionally trying proceedings. This is probably most true for proceedings involving the custody and care of children, which can occur in connection to a divorce or between parents who were never married. New York law allows parents and legal guardians to petition to change a child’s name. The process is far from simple, especially when someone seeks a name change in connection with a family law proceeding.
No specific legal standard exists for children’s names. A child commonly takes their father’s surname, but this is not required by law. Section 4132 of the New York Public Health Law establishes the form and content requirements for a birth certificate, but it does not expressly require the child’s name. As far back as 1987, the New York Times was reporting on changing social norms regarding baby surnames, largely related to women who do not take their husband’s name when they get married. Now that same-sex marriages are legally recognized throughout the country, naming conventions are likely to go through more changes.
Name changes are fairly common in divorces, such as when women want to return to their maiden name or another prior name. Children’s names potentially present greater controversy. The New York Civil Rights Law allows courts to order a name change for a minor, provided that “there is no reasonable objection” to the change and that the minor’s “interests…will be substantially promoted by the change.” The courts have delved further into these questions.