Many people want to know how to change your surname or change their child’s surname for a reason. It could be due to divorce, partner’s death, marriage, or even a security reason. While changing surname can’t happen overnight, now there’s a simpler way to do it – by using a Deed Poll which you can order online. In order to do this as easier as possible, here are the 5 things you should know when changing your child’s surname.
1. You Need Consent From All Parental Responsibility Holders
Parental responsibility is held by a child’s legal parents. The legal parents aren’t necessarily the child’s biological parents. They can also be their foster parents, guardians, or people who are related to the child by the court. Therefore, the legal mother can be the child’s biological mother or the woman who adopted them, if the child has a surrogate mother. The legal father can be the child’s biological father, the person named in the birth certificate (after 1 December 2003 in England and Wales) or the unmarried biological father (on and after 4 May 2006 in Scotland).
If you don’t have consent (actually a written evidence of the consent) from the other holder of parental responsibility, you won’t be able to legally change your child’s surname. However, if you have sole parental responsibility, not a joint on, you don’t need consent and can change your child’s surname if you want to. Some people ask how to change your surname or to change a child’s name after a relationship has broken down and the other parent is not involved in the child’s life. This is a big decision though and should only be considered if the parents have tried to talk through counselling or mediation with ReGain first.
2. You Need A Birth Certificate
In order to be able to legalize your child’s surname change, you need to have their birth certificate. The birth certificate is the document issued shorty upon your child’s birth. It includes information like the child’s “original” full name, the names of the parents (either both biological or one of them a legal partner), date, time, and place of birth, and another relevant information. You will need this document as proof of your child’s personal information and only then can you start to ask how to change your surname.
3. You Need A Deed Poll
The next thing you need is a Deed Poll. A Deed Poll is a legal document which proves a name change. You can apply for one in a certain local institution or you can apply online. While going locally will probably take more time, nerves, and going from place to place to get all document you need, going online will save you from all that trouble. In fact, applying for your child’s Deed Poll online is very easy, convenient, and it has only 3 steps, including:
- Filling out an application you can find on the website of the chosen, reliable Deed Poll provider.
- Paying for the Deed Poll. You can pay with your credit card, debit card, and PayPal, but this may vary from provider to provider.
- Ordering the Deed Poll. Before you click the order button, it’s a good idea to order duplicate copies, certified copies, and legalized copies (if you need them). This because you will most probably need them when notifying some of all relevant record-holders about your child’s surname change.
4. You Have To Sign And Witness Your Child’s Deed Poll
Your child’s Deed Poll will arrive in a few days after ordering it. When you receive it, you need to sign and witness it. If you have a joint parental responsibility, both, you and the other legal parent, have to sign the document. And if your child is 14 years old or older, they should also sign the document which means they are old enough to decide if they agree with the change of surname.
Apart from you, the witness should also sign your child Deed Poll. They should write their name and surname, address, and occupation. By signing the Deed Poll, the witness guarantees that the surname change isn’t done forcefully, but it’s agreed between the child and their legal parents.
5. You Have To Notify All Record-holders
When everything is done, you need to notify all record-holders and interested parties about the surname change of your child. Namely, you should notify the hm passport office, private practices, local authorities, your child’s school, and other relevant authorities and institutions.
In order to notify them, you should send a cover letter along with the Deed Poll to each record-holder. In the cover letter, you should state the change in the surname, your type of parental responsibility and that all holders have signed the Deed Poll. If you have joint parental responsibility, you should also enclose are a copy of the other holder’s consent.
Changing your child’s surname has never been easier thanks to technology. Instead of waiting in line for documents and going from place to place to do the job, now you can do it from the comfort of your home. But, in order to ensure the surname change is legal, you have to have all the documents mentioned here. If you happen to reside in Chicago, for example, you can look for a name change service in Illinois and have the entire process streamlined by professionals.
