Opinion ID: 1614516
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Chancellor's Order to Change Rachel's Surname.

Text: ¶ 7. The order entered by the chancellor on November 14, 2000, was a final determination as to paternity and the change of Rachel's surname. The order was temporary only as it related to custody, support, and visitation, with these issues to be ultimately settled at a final hearing that did not occur until July 17, 2003. In fact, the ordered was entitled Order of Paternity; and of Temporary Custody, Support, and Visitation. After the chancellor ordered that Rachel's surname be changed to Tiebauer in November of 2000, Powers then challenged the name change via a Motion to Alter or Amend. However, as the chancellor noted at the final hearing in 2003, she took no action to notice the motion, set a hearing date, or otherwise pursue an adjudication of the motion until she objected to the name change at the final hearing on custody, support, and visitation. The chancellor found that Powers's failure to pursue the motion should be deemed an abandonment of the claim. We find that the facts support the chancellor's finding that Powers abandoned her claim; therefore, his decision was not an abuse of discretion. Accordingly, we decline to address the merits of Powers's argument that the chancellor failed to consider the best interests of the child standard in ordering that Rachel's surname be changed to that of her biological father, Eric Tiebauer.