I had a nephew that several weeks before he married (at 20 something) he asked that my brother-in-law adopt him so that he and his wife would have his name and not the name of the deadbeat father he hadn't seen most of his life. The BIL had raised him since he was 2 or 3 years old. The adoption was granted in the State of Michigan.

Try contacting your local courthouse and see if they can help you.

If Texas doesn't allow adult adoption, she could just petition to change her last name.

Good luck

I read this post yesterday and it wasn't until I read what the last poster said that I remembered I did know someone who did something similar.

My cousin's husband went a few months before they married and had his name changed and I believe at that time his step father adopted him. His father never was really around and to the guy, his step father was more his father. So he changed his last name before he got married so his wife and children would carry his step father's name and not the name of a man that never comes around. This in in PA and the guy was at least 23 at the time. I can't see why you're daughter can't do the same.

In my humble opinion, I don't see the purpose of it. Is it psychologically healthy to try to deny who you are or would it be better to accept the circumstances of your birth. The deadbeat may not have contributed one solid moment of joy to this young woman, but he did assist in bringing her into this world and she may come to realize that changing th papers still will not change the truth. She will still be the offspring of this person and carry some of his traits. She is of the age of majority, so why does it matter? She will soon begin her life and start a family of her own and her name may change anyways. It will not affect who the birth father really was and her original birth records will not change. I think acceptance would provide more healing than a change in paperwork. Maybe counseling would be more appropriate.

Rosie, that is a personal choice, and if it is important to her, then it is important!

She can be adopted. She also has the right to change her name without being adopted, as long as it is not for any illegal activity. A simple visit to an attorney and five minutes in front of a judge will facilitate her name change. If she has her heart set on being adopted, it will be a bit more pricy and perhaps take a bit longer.
j

My daughter wants her last name legally changed to her middle name, and i am all for it. It is what she wants for Xmas. She is 16 , was adopted by stepdad at 4 when biodad and I divorced and I remarried, then stepdad turned out to be an abuser. I divorced him after 10 years of hell and changed back to my maiden name. Even if I married my current live-in BF, I will keep my own name. It IS psychologically healthy to decide what your identity is. Validate your daughter's need to have the name of the man she loves as her dad, and her need to dispose of the name that means only pain to her. She wants the world to know who she is and to whom she belongs. I could never understand divorced women who kept their ex's last names. A grown woman or a mature enough young woman should be able to make this decision about her identity.

Rosie,
A LITTLE BACK GROUND
She is 18, a young adult!!! She had been in counseling several years back. As a Mom I was told that my Daughter needed to form her own opinion based on her own experiences with her Bio-dad. That is what has happened. She has several years later and they are NOT good!!! This is the man who does NOT acknowledge HER much her b-days, graduation, special Parent days at school, etc... But who enjoyed slapping on her and verbally abusing her. She is a good student/child she was a cheerleader, member of the student government and on the honor role in high school!! She decided she wanted to write him a letter, and asked for my help. My stepulation was she had to be 18 and had to do it on her own, being that I did not want to be blamed later down the road as I always am/was with her BD. She did on her OWN and it was 5 pages of issues she addressed. If you read the letter you would not think an 18 yr old wrote it but a much older/mature person. GUESS WHAT!! he opened it, read it, put it back in the envelope and taped it and it was returned to her via USPO with "REFUSED" written on it. What she wrote was a healing experience SHE needed and closure on a very unhealth relationship, reguardless of who it was with!!
In closing Rosie, my daughter knows WHO she is. When someone asked her why she wanted to do this now at 18 her response was, "I'm honored to have my step dad, he taught me many things, one of them is unconditional love, I want the world to know just how special he is too me" By the way she is an only child, SD has no children. She has a SM with BD and step brothers. As for me and her SD, it does not matter what her last name is. This is important to her.

Your daughter is an adult, and as such has the right to change her name to Purple People eater if she chooses...LOL
I think your daughter is giving your husband the most precious gift, as he in return is giving her the same. What is wrong with this? NOthing. She wants HER DAD's name. The man who raised her is her dad. How does that saying go, it takes a MAN to be a Daddy, anyone can be a father?

My children are 5 and 3, and tell people their last name is that of their step-dad. I find myself correcting them more often then not. DH has raised them for 3 years, is the ONLY dad they will ever know, and they don't understand why their last name is different then Daddys. In the process now of stripping Bio Dad of his parental rights,so that they can have their Daddy's last name. If it doesn't happen, I will let them decide when they are 18. And for all of you out there who are getting ready to blast me, Bio Dad has nothing to do with these kids. It's been 4 years of nothing. (I left while pregnant with my son) No child support, no birthday cards, NOTHING. He's never even seen my son.

Adoption does not change the birth certificate. She will never change the physical fact that her bio father is her bio father. Since she is 18 he also has no parent rights left. If she wants to be adopted to have a different father *now* then consult a lawyer who can explain the state law better than anyone on an internet site (wouldn't want you to rely in incorrect info for her!). However, she needs to understand that it won't change the past or the facts of her birth.

My father married my mother in 1965 (she had 4 sons from a previous marriage - 15, 14, 12, 6). It took them a while to save up the money for adoption, but when it finally happened my brothers were 21, 20, 18 & 12. My dad said it was kind of funny when they went to court and there were all of these couples with little babies and small children and when they called for my mom and dad, they stood up with 4 boys and 3 of them were taller than my dad! :-)