Changing a childs name -Help needed.

flybynight

even without parentla responsibilty it may be worth condiering this

lifetd from the link mentioned above

"(for mothers with sole parental responsibility where the father has regular contact)
If you have sole parental responsibility and the father has frequent contact with your child, there is legal precedence that you should be aware of before you apply to change your child's name.

There have been a few successful legal actions in England where an unmarried father without parental responsibility, has obtained a court order to have his child's change of surname reversed (but not any forename changes). In each case, the mother had changed her child's surname from the father's surname to her surname. The court ordered that the child's surname be changed back to the father's surname. The significant factor taken into account by the courts was that the courts recognised the importance of maintaining a link with the father. By sharing the same surname with the child, the father's biological link is recognised. The courts also took into account the degree of commitment of the father to the child and the quality of contact between the father and child. In these successful cases, there was frequent contact with the child by the father. This does mean, however, that if the father does not have frequent contact with his child, it is highly unlikely that he will be successful in obtaining an order to reverse a change of surname because there is no link to break.

You are therefore advised that if you change your child's surname and the father has frequent contact with your child, he may be able to have the change of name reversed (if he has the inclination, time and money to go through the court process). The only way to eliminate the risk of the change of surname being reversed is to apply to the courts for leave (permission) to change the child's name without the consent of the father.

If the father of your child has frequent contact an option to consider is to double barrel the surname with your surname i.e. add your surname to the child's surname. By doing this, it much more unlikely that the father will seek a court order to reverse the name change because his name has not been removed and thus the biological link to the father has not been broken. Furthermore, if you do not link the two elements of the surname with a hyphen, you will find in general day-to-day usage, only the child's first name and last name will be used. For example, if your child is known as Rebecca Louise SMITH and you change the surname to SMITH JONES, then in general usage, the child will be called Rebecca JONES (but for all official purposes the name Rebecca Louise SMITH JONES must be declared and used). However, if you hyphenate the surname, the child will always be called Rebecca SMITH-JONES (because the hyphen make the surname one name).

One further point to consider relates to the age of your child. If your child is into their adolescence (about 11 upwards) and the child wants the name change, the chance of the father being successful in obtaining a court order to reverse a surname change is significantly reduced. This is because a judge must act in the best interests of the child and if the child is able to demonstrate that they fully understand the significance of the name change and desire the name change then the judge will take the child's views into account."

thesaint

Bossyboots wrote:

You do not need a solicitor to enter into a parental responsibility agreement.

The form and instructions are on the Court Service website. It just needs to be filled in and taken to the local magistrates court with photographic ID for the signatures to be witnessed. It then needs to be lodged at the Principal Registry in London.

Sorry, what I meant was that for many, (me included, who has been through the system) the thought of getting papers from a website, taking them to court, witnesses etc is too much. Disregarding the fee (if payable) going to see a friendly solicitor is an easier option to contemplate.

Not money saving I know.

hobo28

thesaint wrote:

Sorry, what I meant was that for many, (me included, who has been through the system) the thought of getting papers from a website, taking them to court, witnesses etc is too much. Disregarding the fee (if payable) going to see a friendly solicitor is an easier option to contemplate.

Not money saving I know.

You still need to take them to court. I initially went to a solicitor and all she did was print out the form from the website, fill it in and give it to me!

Better off doing it yourself. You don't need additional witnesses, the court officer/judge will be the witness.

Its just throwing the money away.

ANNIEHAHA

dear helpme , my husband has been here , he was not married to her and did not have his parental responsability order (has it now though!)
your husband can go to court and have this reversed as the child has had this surname for a good number of years and it is his identity!
I symmpathise with you and your husband
how horrid some women can be!

samcat_2

ANNIEHAHA wrote:

how horrid some women can be!

Question: if the parents were umarried. The father was violent. The mother leaves father. The father refuses to pay maintenance. The father deliberately remains jobless for 8 years and states that this is to avoid paying maintenance. Has never paid a penny. but has regularish contact. Do you think the Mother is horrid? Do you think that Mother who provides the roof over their heads, the food on their table, the safety of a non violent home, the school lunches, the clothes, the presents, the holidays, the bus fares, the pocket money, the school uniforms, and everthing the child needs with no financial support whatsoever from the father, and who changes the name to hers is horrid?

samcat_2

helpme! wrote:

Does anyone else think this is wrong?

That depends on the circumstances.
There are many situations where this is right. There are some where it is wrong.

It is is very difficult and awkward for a parent who's children reside with them to have a different surname to them - dealing with the schools, doctors, dentists, school clubs everything... it would need explaining over and over again

specs_3

samcat wrote:

Question: if the parents were umarried. The father was violent. The mother leaves father. The father refuses to pay maintenance. The father deliberately remains jobless for 8 years and states that this is to avoid paying maintenance. Has never paid a penny. but has regularish contact. Do you think the Mother is horrid? Do you think that Mother who provides the roof over their heads, the food on their table, the safety of a non violent home, the school lunches, the clothes, the presents, the holidays, the bus fares, the pocket money, the school uniforms, and everthing the child needs with no financial support whatsoever from the father, and who changes the name to hers is horrid?

samcat quite clearly said some women.

Every case has it's own merits which would be taken into account, and the decision to reverse or not reverse based on them.

If the situation described is your own then it is quite clearly different, and you would receive different information as to what to do, and the father's rights.

samcat_2

specs wrote:

samcat quite clearly said some women.

quite clearly said horrid because the mother changed the name.

with no information into the back ground this is judgmental.

specs_3

Sorry, my statement should have read as this.

samcat it quite clearly said some women.

Every case has it's own merits which would be taken into account, and the decision to reverse or not reverse based on them.

If the situation described is your own then it is quite clearly different, and you would receive different information as to what to do, and the father's rights.

Bossyboots

thesaint wrote:

Sorry, what I meant was that for many, (me included, who has been through the system) the thought of getting papers from a website, taking them to court, witnesses etc is too much. Disregarding the fee (if payable) going to see a friendly solicitor is an easier option to contemplate.

Not money saving I know.

As hobo28 says, all a solicitor will do is print the form out and put in details you can easily do yourself. Any solicitor prepared to take money for doing this for you is pretty poor in my opinion. Everything else you need to do yourself and the court staff who can witness these are usually very empathetic to parents doing this, not least because it is preferable for parents to be able to agree, rather than use the court to fight their battles and make their decisions.