Beyah v. Shelton

This appeal is from an order entered in a change-of-name proceeding brought by the mother of a minor child born out of wedlock. See Code § 8.01-217. The trial court, over the objection of the child’s natural father, ordered the child’s name changed. The court stated that the father had no “right to object” to the change of name because he and the child’s mother were never married. Additionally, the court found that the change of name was in the child’s best interest. The father appeals.

Nathan Beyah and Edrow Carolyn Tyler began living together in 1976. In October 1977, while she was expecting…