Important advice

[Tentuntim]

Help is much appreciated. So many years ago i got in to a relationship i brought up my daughter. Though she is not legally my daughter i will still say it and she will still call me dad. Iv tried my best to find a solution for my problem but i cant. I know i cant legally adopt her now because she is 19 and we are going down the process of changing her name to mine. Just want to clarify this was her decision she came to me and asked me if she could. What i am trying to do is make everything above board, is there anything i can do to make this legal? I know the options are limited but ill fight for this because its what she wants. I want to be her dad in a legal sense. Would somthing like this be able yo go to court because i want to do what it takes to make it happen. Please help this is very important.

[PallasAthena]

If you are not her biological birth father and were not married to her biological birth mother when she was born I do not think it is possible now to make her legally your daughter. As you say it would have been possible to achieve that by adoption before she was 18 but it now too late to do that. As an adult she is free to change her name by Deed Poll [ Change your name by deed poll: How to change your name - GOV.UK ] to whatever surname she chooses without needing anyone's permission.

Informally it is of course OK to refer to her as your daughter and she to call you her dad. That is common where someone has brought up a child they are not a blood relative to.

She is also free to name you as her Next of Kin [NoK] when she is asked who her NoK are, eg if she is admitted to hospital, or when asked for emergency contact information, and to say that you are her father. NoK has no legal definition in the UK and the person someone names as their NoK does not have to be a blood relative or biological parent. Some general information on NoK here: What is Next of Kin? | Guillaumes

I am assuming you are in England.

[Tentuntim]

Yes i am in the uk sorry i forgot to mention that, would it be possible to take it to court, would they even look at such s case? The only reason i say this is because its somthing we both want. Would a court not hear her wishes and uphold this. Im just finding it hard to belive there is nothing we can do.

[PallasAthena]

I am not aware of any legal procedure that a court could use to achieve what you want. I am assuming your daughter is not a vulnerable adult and has full mental capacity. But I am not a lawyer, someone else may respond with a different view.

I am not clear what practical difference it would make even if you were able to do it.

[Tentuntim]

She has full mental capacity etc i thank you for your replies and in a very respectful way its all all about what she wants and i want go try my very best to do such a thing if i can.