Proving paternity and child’s last name

Hello, when registering a child in the birth register, I listed my common-law husband as the father of the child. The centre invited him for an interview, during which he stated that he wanted the paternity to be confirmed by DNA analysis and only then he will enter his name in the birth register, but on the condition that the child bears his last name. I will agree to this because he is the father of the child, but I do not want the child to bear his surname. What to do?

Hello, as far as I can see, this testing will be performed voluntarily. After the test results, if your common-law husband is the father of the child, he will be entered in the birth registry as the father of the child, which you agree with because you listed him as such when registering in the registry office, and he will take on the obligation of material support and other rights and obligations determined by the Family Act. 

If you cannot agree on the child’s last name, according to the Personal Name Act, the personal name will be determined by the competent social welfare centre within 30 days from the day of submitting the request of one of the parents. The personal name of a minor child whose parents are not married will be changed at the request of the parent with whom the child lives or to whom it has been entrusted in accordance with a final court decision, with the consent of the other parent. In the absence of the consent of the other parent, the competent social welfare centre will, at the request of the parent requesting personal name change, determine whether the requested personal name change is in the interest of the child. A parent must also submit the decision of the competent social welfare centre with the request to change the child’s personal name. 

The request for a personal name change is resolved by the competent state administration office in the county, i.e. the City Office for General Administration of the City of Zagreb according to the applicant’s place of residence.