Broken Mediation Agreement - Minor Name Change

If the agreement was in writing you could enforce it through the courts, if it is not in writing you may have no recourse at this point.

Helena M. Nevicosi
Attorney with Rosen Law Firm

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2 months after separation in 2006 my now ex-wife became pregnant. DNA test results show I am not the biological father. I have been legally declared not the father in subsequent order.

This child has my last name.

As part of the mediation agreement, I agreed to change our daughter’s last name (only one born of the marriage) to include my ex-wife’s maiden name if the other child’s name was changed to my ex-wife’s maiden name. However, this agreement was made outside the courtroom in the presence of my attorney, her attorney, and the guardian ad litem of our daughter and was not entered into the consent order.

I did all I could do to change our own daughter’s name to the agreed combination, including filing the intent to change name motion, however once again ex-wife refused to do her part to even complete this process.

For over a year now ex-wife has refused to honor this agreement, and has informed me that she has no intention of changing her other daughter’s last name.

There is no end to the confusion that this causes, for example I have received collection notices for medical bills for this child that have gone delinquent, and the other child calls me daddy when I pick up my daughter from visitation.

Is there any recourse for me to obtain a ruling to change this child’s last name since we agreed in the presence of both attorneys (we are now both pro se) and the guardian ad litem?