Want this question answered?
yes why?
With the court's permission, if the parents are not married. Single fathers have no assumed rights to a child. Married parents have equal rights to the child until otherwise ruled on.
legally, no.
Either of the parents names, or both; i.e. smith-jones. There is no set convention, it's the parent's choice
That decision is up to the parents. There is no law that covers this situation if the mother has not taken her husband's name in marriage.
Mother has sole custody and control in 49 states see links
This is an area not addressed in the statutes. Single fathers have no assumed rights. How this may apply if there's a divorce later on has not been addressed at this time. To the best of my knowledge, mothers or attorneys have not attempted to claim the father still has no rights.
The father has a right to pay support and to seek visitation rights. [BTW, the child's last name isn't relevant to this.]SEE LINKS BELOW
yes you can
There are not any legal advantages one way or the other, however if the parents introduce themselves as Mr & Mrs "Jones" the child may be more comfortable using the family name. However, if the parents are not married, then why should the child make that commitment if they won't?
Sometimes depending on the father's parents.
Based on reports from single fathers, the mother has sole custody until otherwise ruled on by the courts. see links