In re Byrd

By Judge D. Arthur Kelsey

On November 20, 2001, Jerry Lee Powell appeared before the Court on his petition to change the name of his son, Austin S. Byrd, to Austin Shane Powell. Bom on May 24, 2000, the child resides with his mother, Stacy Byrd, who has sole legal and physical custody over him. The child carries the last name of his mother because paternity had not been definitively established at the time of his birth. The Court received testimony from both the petitioner and from Stacy Byrd. The petitioner, as the child’s natural father, understandably wants his son to carry on his name. The…