Baby Denied Birth Certificate Following Dad's Name Change

[rockin'robin]

Josh Ristow Took Wife's Last Name After Their Marriage


OMAHA, Neb. -- A family had a difficult time obtaining a birth certificate after the child's father changed his name. Now county and state officials are trying to dissect what Nebraska law says about the situation.

The birth of Claire Ristow has opened a can of worms for her parents, Chrissy and Josh Ristow.

The problem has its roots five years ago, when Chrissy and Josh got married. Josh Ristow decided to buck tradition and take Chrissy's last name.

"At first I thought he was kidding," said Chrissy.

Josh made the decision to change his name so that Chrissy's son, from a previous relationship, wouldn't be the only member of the family with a different last name. He said he jumped through all the hoops to make the change.

"I went to Social Security and got the form and they said all I needed was our marriage license," said Josh. "I sent it in and everything was taken care of."

For the last five years, Josh's new last name was not an issue. He filed taxes, had gotten a new Social Security card and a driver's license. The couple even got a birth certificate for their 4-year-old son when he was born.

It was a different story for Claire Ristow.

"Vital statistics was saying that Josh's last name was not legal," said Chrissy Ristow.

Phil Rooney, who is a spokesman for Douglas County, said the practice of changing a name in Nebraska is different for men and women.

According to state law, any person desiring to change his or her name has to file a petition with the District Court of the county in which they reside.

Rooney said the only exception is that women can change their name following a marriage without going to court.

"They (the Ristows) actually made a mistake the first time," said Rooney. "Nobody caught it that time around."

No one seems to know how Josh Ristow was allowed to change his name five years ago without going to court. The Nebraska Department of Vital Statistics said the mistake needs to be corrected.

There is good news for the Ristows. Douglas County is providing a birth certificate for Claire. Until now, the couple has not been able to get health insurance or a Social Security card for their baby.

Now Josh Ristow wonders how he's gone five full years with a last name that really didn't belong to him.

"We've filed five tax returns with that last name," Josh said. "What going to happen there?"

KETV NewsWatch 7 asked a number of state officials about the situation and the consensus is that changing a name at marriage is not specifically spelled out in the law. It may be an issue that will have to be dealt with by the Legislature.

Baby Denied Birth Certificate Following Dad's Name Change - Omaha News Story - KETV Omaha

 

[MidnightSun]

This is stupid

Poor little Claire....Look it's very simple ..the state law allows the man to take the womans last name legally at marriage. I personally have friends who have done the same because the guys last name was something outrageous.
Anyway, Dad has been accepted legally with Social Security, Dept of the treasury (taxes) and there are babies given the last name of men who did not even father them..come on..baby claire is probably gonna grow up and change her name when she marries..unless her husband or wife to be is forwardthinking like her parents...Give the kid the Birth certificate and stop wasting taxpayers time while everyone trys to find a loop hole....
There's a GOOD EXAMPLE....would you take your husbands last name if it was Loophole? UGH...Midnight♥♥♥

 

[Glenn]

Donald Trump had something to do with it.

 

[Reba]

I know a married couple where the husband took the wife's last name because he hated his parents and didn't want to keep their last name.

 

[Beach girl]

Good enough reason. I've heard of a man who took his wife's name because she was an only child and the family name would have died out, so he switched. I thought that was a very loving thing to do.

Whatever the reason, it seems silly for the lawmakers to be picking a fight with the guy over this, since he's not hiding anything, he changed it legally with Social Security and the IRS and everyone else.

 

[Anij]

I know plenty of men who've taken their wife's last name when they marry (or change it to a hyphenated surname)

I've also legally done a name change myself (adding an additional middle name) which required 4 different types of paperwork because I wanted both a "legal name change" and for it to be officially and legally added to my birth certificate etc. - Basically I wanted to make it as if my "name change" had ALWAYS been my name, in every legal and official way.

It sounds like the problem is that when changing his name, this person didn't clarify all the appropriate paperwork and steps required to make it a complete "change of name" in all respects. It's a good reminder for anyone doing a change of name to make sure that they make sure that they aren't missing any "needed steps" by reading all documents carefully, and inquiring on the correct steps via the appropriate government agencies (not just the person at your local name change office, who may or may not be aware of all the little eccentricities of the law).