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Changing surname - complex

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I'm after some advice please.

It's quite complex

My husband passed away two years ago and I have kept his surname however I am now due to have a baby in March and as the baby has no connection to my late husband I have decided to return to my maiden name.

I have done some research and apparently evidence of his death certificate and our marriage certificate would usually be enough. However as I was divorced my name on my marriage certificate is that of my ex husband and no reference to my maiden name.

So, will me birth certificate and husbands death certificate be enough evidence or am I going to need to do an 'enrolled' deed poll? I think I need to do this before baby arrives so I can officially register her with my maiden surname.

Thank you for any help you can give me.

Comments

  • TonyMMM
    TonyMMM Posts: 3,422 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 5 December 2017 at 12:19PM
    When you register the birth you can choose any surname you like for the child.

    Your surname will be recorded as being the name you "use or are known by" at the time of the birth. If you currently use your maiden or birth name then that is the name that will be recorded. You will be asked if you have ever used or been known by any other name, which you can explain to the registrar - those names don't have to be shown on the register.

    You don't need a deed poll to change your name back - your name is what it always was/is and choosing to use a married name for a time doesn't change that.

    Just let people who need to know (doctor, banks, dvla etc.) that you are now known as xxxx
  • TBagpuss
    TBagpuss Posts: 11,236 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    As Tony says, you can register your child with whatever name you like.

    You can also call yourself whatever you like.

    If you like, you can do a change of name deed. Normally this would just refer to the name you are changing from and to (e.g. Jane Smith to Jane Richards) but there';s no reason you cant also reference the previous name (e.g. Jane Smith (formerly known as Jane Williams) to Jane Richards)

    What research have you been looking at? A lot of organisations (including the passport agency) will record a change of name without needing to see a formal deed, if you can show you are reverting to a previous name - the most common situation being when you are returning o a maiden name following divorce. You would need to contact the individual organisation to see what they would accept(and sometimes, for places like banks, it can be easier to close the account and then open a new one in the new (old!) name once you have some ID in that name.
    All posts are my personal opinion, not formal advice Always get proper, professional advice (particularly about anything legal!)
  • 74jax
    74jax Posts: 7,930 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Just register baby in what ever surname you want. And put your surname down as your maiden name - it's your name?
    Forty and fabulous, well that's what my cards say....
  • Ms_Chocaholic
    Ms_Chocaholic Posts: 12,711 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Is this because when you are in hospital your baby is given the surname of the mother so that in the event of an emergency there is no confusion. If that's the case, just change your surname with your GP/midwife to avoid that.
    Thrifty Till 50 Then Spend Till the End
    You can please some of the people some of the time, all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time but you can never please all of the people all of the time
  • itzmee
    itzmee Posts: 401 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts
    edited 5 December 2017 at 11:45PM
    My son didn't have either mine, or his dad's surname when we registered him! We asked the registrar who confirmed we could give whatever surname we wanted.


    It's not as weird as it sounds, we gave ds his dad's birth surname - dad was adopted when his mum remarried, so had a different surname, but he always intended to change it back again.
  • bouicca21
    bouicca21 Posts: 6,690 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    You should be able to crack the passport office without a deed poll. Once you have a new passport all the others - bank etc - will be easy.
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