In Re Marriage of Presson

The question presented here is: Can the divorced father of a seven-year-old boy prevent the child from being called by the surname of his mother’s new husband until the child is old enough to legally change his own name?

Herman Wayne Presson (Wayne) and Pamela S. Pres-son (Pamela) were divorced in 1979. At that time their son, Gregory Wayne Presson (Greg or Gregory), was five years old. In November 1980, less than five weeks after Pamela’s marriage to Frederick A. Kelley (Kelley), Wayne received the following letter from Kelley:

“Wayne Presson:

Pamela and I have determined that it is in Gregs…