Law Lessons from from SHANKS v. ARRIETA, Appellate Division, A-5757-05T5, October 1, 2007 [LINK]:

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The Supreme Court has held that the non-custodial parent or secondary caretaker “bears the burden of demonstrating by a preponderance of the evidence that despite the presumption favoring the custodial parent’s [or secondary caretaker’s] choice of name, the chosen surname is not in the best interests of the child.” Gubernat v. Deremer, 140 N.J. 120, 145 (1995); see also Ronan v. Adely, 182 N.J. 103, 109 (2004).