Determining your child’s last name
By Louisiana law, if the child is born to a mother who either is married or was married within 300 days prior to the birth of the child, the last name (surname) of the child shall be recorded in accordance with the following requirements:
(i) If the mother is married at the time of the birth of the child, and if the mother was not married to another man within 300 days prior to the birth of the child, the last name of the child shall be the last name of the current husband of the mother.
(ii) If the mother, though married to one man at the time of the birth of the child, was married to another man within 300 days prior to the birth of the child, the last name of the child shall be the last name of the former husband of the mother.
(iii) If the mother is or was married to someone other than the biological father within 300 days of the birth, a 3-party AOP form can be used along with a DNA-based paternity test that shows the identity of the biological father with at least 99.9% probability. The surname of the child shall be the maiden name or surname of the mother, at her discretion. However, if the biological father and the mother agree, the surname of the child may instead be the surname of the biological father or a combination of the mother’s and father’s maiden/surnames.
