Surname of stepfather in daughter school certificates
Frank
(Querist) 23 October 2009
This query is : Resolved
Hi, My wife has a daughter from her first marriage. After divorce she married me. She has the divorce decree also. In the daughter's birth certificate, it has her first and middle name and her bio father name. While admission to school, the school does not accept my name as the father as the birth certificate does not show that. How can my name come as the surname of my daughter? I showed them the decree and the name change of my wife to my surname also and marriage certificate but still the school does not accept. Please advise me a solution? Also how hard is for me to adopt my daughter without her bio father's consent through court as he has had no contact with the child since the divorce for four years. After four years he came to see her and call her on the phone in her birthday. That is it, does it count as child abandonment. The divorce decree also says that he the mother is responsible for the child in future and she has received a sum xx towards permanent alimony for her maintenance and also towards maintainer of minor child.
Raj Kumar Makkad
(Expert) 23 October 2009
Even though divorce has been sought by your wife from her first husband and her daughter is with her and even permanent alimony and maintenance has been received by them even then that daughter belongs to her father i.e. the first husband of your wife so far as the matter of father is concerned apart from her date of birth certificate. If first husband of your wife is not ready to give her daughter in adoption to you willfully, you cannot insist it and no law can help you and even if he do not come to see her, it cannot be treated as abandonment.
Adv Archana Deshmukh
(Expert) 24 October 2009
You cannot adopt the daughter without her bio father's consent. His consent is essential, though your wife may have got the custody of the child.
