changing childs name on birth certificate

maryotuam

It might be worth your sister thinking about her motivation for wanting to change her child's surname. If it is in the best interests of her son then fair enough. But if it's a knee jerk emotional response to her relationship break up, it might not be fair to her son.

Becles

If the father has PR and he says no to the name change, then there is very little you can do about it.

I've got 2 boys aged 11 and nearly 9. I've remarried and had another baby, and they want to change their name so they have the same name as my husband, me and their baby sister. Their biological Dad has said no, so they have to wait until they are 16, so they can change their name without needing his permission.

shazrobo

i changed my sons names, many years ago when they where still babies after the breakup of my marriage, true, its a real pain having to produce two sets of documents, even to open a child's bank account.
i have no regrets tho, as the kids do not see their father, and dont wish to ever have anything to do with him., might be different if dad is still in childs life

cazziebo

I changed my children's names to my name after their father left. Didn't need or ask for permission, but he didn't object. We were married, but I had kept my own name and I really wanted us all to be the same. I did think of changing my name to his, but that would have been ridiculous. We were the family unit now - he walked away from that.

their passports have their name and I can't think of any occasion when they have needed their birth certificates - except for the first time they got passports and starting school. They haven't needed it for bank accounts.

it's never been an issue.

renowen

Taken from the Gloucester Councty Council website

Birth re-registering

If the natural parents were not married to each other at the time of the birth and the father's details were not included in the register entry it may be possible to re-register the birth at any time in the future to include the father's details in the registration. If required, it may also be possible to change the surname of the child. Re-registration to add the father's details will give parental responsibility to the father, in addition to the mother. A form is available from any of the Registration Offices that has to be completed by both parents before the re-registration application can be processed.
The easiest way in this situation for the birth to be re-registered is for both parents to attend a Registration Office together. However, it is possible for either parent to make a statutory declaration, before a solicitor or other person able legally to witness an oath, acknowledging parentage of the child. It is also possible for either parent to seek a Court Order naming the father. In any of these cases the birth could be registered again and certified copies (certificates) of the re-registered birth can then be purchased from the registrar.
If the parents have married each other since the birth was registered, the birth should be re-registered to accurately record the current legal status of the child. A form is available from any of the Registration Offices that must be completed by both parents before the re-registration application can be processed. The marriage certificate should accompany the application, and a request for the child's surname to be changed may be part of this process. Once authorised, either parent can then attend a Registration Office for the birth to be re-registered. Certified copies (certificates) of the re-registered birth can be purchased from the registrar.

Changing the surname of my child

However, if for example, the parents were not married to each other at the time of the birth and it was decided to give the child the father's surname, whether or not he attended with the mother, it is not possible to change the surname in the registration back to that of the mother unless you are able to re-register under the conditions above. The only alternative will be to consult a solicitor and make a statutory declaration or deed poll changing the surname of the child. This will not change the original birth registration. The statutory declaration or deed poll document should be kept with the birth certificate and this will provide evidence that the child is being brought up in a surname different to that recorded in the birth registration.

HTH

Kazzajr

I am going through this myself and changing my son's name as he doesn't see his father at all.
Fortunately we are in Scotland where the law is different and as he was born before 2003 I am able to get his birth certificate changed all I have to do is prove he has lived by the 'new' surname for 2 years. You don't say where you are from but it is possible here.

~evanesco~

My daughter decided she wanted to change her name, and after lots of views on here and some consideration, she is know 'known as' little miss evans, instead of little miss daddy's surname. She's fine with this and her passport she is getting this year will say little miss daddy's surname. She understands why and I haven't changed it legally to make life easier for her in the future. The only drastic thing was telling the school, and they were fine with it. Sometimes she still gets things with little miss daddy's surname on and she understands why. If she wants to change it legally when she's older she has that option. We use her new 'family' name in the house and that's all really. I know people have said about having to have 2 documents for things, but in all honesty I think it's down to personal choice. So long as they are filed away together, producing them both at the same time shouldn't be too much trouble. I would suggest your sister to takes some time to think about it a little more before she commits to a final decision.

elmer

I changed my name in a "known as" sense when I was 12 at school and it only caused problems with my paternal grandparents, I then did it by deed poll when I was 18 and I dont have any regrets.
However I refused to do it initially when my mum wanted me too as it was clear that it was just something at that point to annoy my father.
I changed my name because the circumstances became important for me to do so ( My stepfather was a "personality" in the town where we lived and assumptions were made).
I think it needs to come from the child as they are the ones who have to live with the consequences of having 2 names, and having to explain their family set up is not always comfortable.

Elmer

Strapped

Fortunately, as posted above, your sister will find that she can't just mess about with her child's identity that lightly.

bafty_crastard

I don't know how it is in England but in Scotland it seems you can change a name on a birth certificate.
My brother and his g/f had a baby. They split up when he was about a year old. She's a total screwball and he just couldn't put up with her behaviour any longer (towards him-she seems to be a good mother).
He has paid maintenence from the day he left.
He also sees his son at least once a week.
We discovered that presents we were sending over for birthdays and christmas were being binned as apparently she never liked any of our family and she doesn't feel her son should get to know any of us. My mum decided to open a bank account in my nephews name so we could all put money in for birthdays etc. and he can get it when he's older and finds out we're actually normal people!
The ex g/f kept refusing to give my brother a copy of the birth certificate so my mum applied for it herself as she needed it to open the bank account.
We then discovered that not only had she changed his surname to her own but she'd also taken out his middle name. His middle name was my dads name who died 20 years ago. I can kind of understand her wanting him to have the same surname as her but taking out his middle name has left my mum and brother very upset. :mad:
I know some dads maybe don't see their children but my brother goes out of his way to see his son. I think he should have been consulted but because they were never married it appears he has no rights.