Situation: A man and a woman, who are NOT married, give birth to a
child in the state of Florida.  The father is present during the labor
and delivery of said child.  The woman wants the baby to have her
maiden name as it's last name, the father wants the baby to have his
last name.  Father plans on being an active participant in raising
child.  By Florida law, how will the child's last name on the birth
certificate be determined?

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Request for Question Clarification by justaskscott-ga on 04 May 2004 20:38 PDT

I should emphasize the disclaimer at the bottom of this page, which
indicates that answers and comments on Google Answers are general
information, and not intended to substitute for informed professional
legal advice.  If you need professional advice about this area of law,
you should contact a lawyer.

As a layperson, I have done research on the Florida statutes, and have
found one that appears to apply:

"The 2003 Florida Statutes: 382.013  Birth registration" (scroll down
to section "(3) NAME OF CHILD"]
The Florida Senate
http://www.flsenate.gov/statutes/index.cfm?mode=View%20Statutes&SubMenu=1&App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=CH0382/Sec013.HTM

Does this statute answer your question?  If so, please let me know and
I will post the statute as an answer.

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Clarification of Question by xbars-ga on 12 May 2004 16:11 PDT

If I understand the statute correctly as given, it depends on who has
custody at the time of birth.  In your opinion (I fully understand the
disclaimer) when a baby is born, both parents are present but not
married, at that moment in time, is it automatically a joint custody?
(as in the case of a married couple?) Or automatically the custody of
the mother?  Or is the court the only one that can decide legal
custody?  Sounds complicated to me.
If you will give me your opinion about that, consider the statute as
answered and thank you so much for giving me the directions to the web
site.  I never would have found it on my own.  Thank you again!

Hello xbars,

For easy reference, here again is the statute:

"The 2003 Florida Statutes: 382.013  Birth registration" (scroll down
to section "(3) NAME OF CHILD"]
The Florida Senate
http://www.flsenate.gov/statutes/index.cfm?mode=View%20Statutes&SubMenu=1&App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=CH0382/Sec013.HTM

With the disclaimer noted above, here are my opinions about your
follow-up questions:

"If I understand the statute correctly as given, it depends on who has
custody at the time of birth."

I think that's correct.  Section 3(c) of the statute says, "If the
mother is not married at the time of birth, the parent who will have
custody of the child shall select the child's given name and surname."

"In your opinion (I fully understand the disclaimer) when a baby is
born, both parents are present but not married, at that moment in
time, is it automatically a joint custody? (as in the case of a
married couple?)"

Section 3(c) seems to imply that joint custody is not automatic. 
Otherwise, this section would not refer to "the parent" who will have
custody.  Section 3(b) indicates that in some cases, "both parents"
will have custody of the child.  So apparently, neither one "parent"
or "both parents" is automatic.

"Or automatically the custody of the mother?"

Section 3(c) does not seem to imply that the mother's custody is
automatic.  It refers to the "parent," not the mother specifically. 
And, as before, Section 3(b) refers to situations where "both parents"
have custody.

"Or is the court the only one that can decide legal custody?"

This statute does not seem to say who would have legal custody, or
whether a court would decide it.  To the extent that the statute has
anything to say on this issue, I would say it's in Section 2(c) ("If
the mother is not married at the time of the birth, the name of the
father may not be entered on the birth certificate without the
execution of an affidavit signed by both the mother and the person to
be named as the father. ...")  Section 2(c) indicates that the
mother's name automatically goes on the birth certificate, while the
father must follow a procedure.  But this section does not talk about
custody, and again Section 3(b) and 3(c) indicate that different
custody situations are possible.

- justaskscott


Search terms used on Google:

florida statutes

Search terms used on Florida Statutes (
http://www.flsenate.gov/Statutes/index.cfm?Mode=Search%20Statutes&Submenu=2&Tab=statutes
):

birth certificate and father