Readers of this St. Louis, Missouri, family law blog know that traditionally, last names descended from the male side of the family - that is, wives generally took their husband's last names and children were given the same last name upon birth. Nowadays, many couples choose to honor both sides of their children's family by combining each spouse's last name into a new, hyphenated last name.

In cases of divorce or parenthood outside of marriage, the children may take the mother's last name if she is the primary or sole caregiver. But what if the father objects to that change?

A court from New Jersey that recently addressed this issue ruled in favor of the father, who had gotten a divorce from the mother of his two children in 2010. The children were given their father's last name at birth. But the mother, who has primary custody, identified them with a hyphenated version of both parents' names on school records and health insurance forms.

The dispute went to civil court, with the mother asking to judge to formally approve the name change and the father arguing against it. The court approved the name changes, but the father appealed, arguing that the court needed both parents' approval to do so.

In making her case, the mother relied partially on two cases where the court had allowed unwed mothers to change their children's last names over the fathers' objections. But in its Jan. 20 decision, the court ruled that the present case was different because the children were born of a years-long marriage as opposed to "a momentary physical relationship."

The court of appeals also found that both parents had legal custody of the children. That means they share the power to make major child-rearing decisions, including whether to change their names, the court said.

Source: Courier-Post, "Divorced duo fights over kids' last name," Jim Walsh, Jan. 20, 2012