questions & answers

Question: I have a 12 year old son, who has a hyphenated last name. He wants to drop one of the hyphened names so that we have the same last name. His bio father never signed the birth certificate and has never been in the picture. Do I need to contact the bio father in order to get the name change? Or can I do the name change without notifying him? As stated, my son's bio father never signed the birth certificate and has never been in the picture.

Answer: You may apply for a name change at any Superior Court in Arizona. Some of the larger counties (i.e. Maricopa and Pima County) have self service desks where you can apply either on line or in person for a name change. Go to: https://www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/SuperiorCourt/Self-ServiceCenter/Forms/CivilCases/index.asp for the paperwork and instructions. If you are outside of these counties, other counties will accept these forms for use. You may also want to talk with an attorney to see if there is anything else you should do.

AzLawHelp has a detailed article on name changes: http://azlawhelp.org/articles_info.cfm?sc=8&mc=1&articleid=60