Changing bub's last name

[TyBean]

I want to change Tyler's last name.... for many various reasons.... but basically I want it to be mine and not my ex's.

Has anyone done it??... or does anyone know can I legally do this??... and how do I go about doing it??...

TIA:flowerz:

[Lastcenturymum]

Dont know from experience, but I think I have read here that you need the father's permission to make a change like that...someone who has done it or knows will come along soon and clarify for you

[subaruforestermum]

Hey, I dont know about with bub being so young, but I know when I was 8 or 9 we reverted back to mums maiden name. Growing up it was fine, as my birth certificate still had mums maiden name, and we explained as to why we used her name. When I got older, basically I just had to sign stat declerations to say as to why my name was different to that on my birth certificate! And I have managed to buy a house using a stat dec, my birth cert being different to my id was no problem!

So I dont know your situation, but ours was a violent situation and had to change for safety reason.

That is one way of doing, or you legally change it through Births Deaths & Marriages, but not sure if you need dads permission for that. But the birth certificate adds a note to the bottom stating there was a name change!

Wasnt much help, but its the info I have!

[OneBabyBoy]

I changed my son's surname.
You need the father's permission. To do it without his permission you have to go to court, it's a lengthy process which costs a few thousand dollars.
Perhaps your ex will let you hyphenate your son's surname? That's what I ended up doing to avoid the court process. Then legally his name is hyphenated but he can still be "known as" my surname alone (at school and things like that).
It is quite expensive to legally change a surname, It cost me around $140 I think? Have a look at the births deaths and marraiges website for your state.

[ashleerose]

Hi, i looked into this previously and contacted births deaths and marriages (this was their reply).

Thanks for your enquiry. If your ex partner disagrees with your plans to change the name and/or youdont know where he is living, you would need to approach a local ordistrict court to apply for a court order allowing you to change the namewithout the fathers permission.

You would still need to fillout your partof the form and provide JP signed ID for both yourself and your child.

Please see below: To apply for a Change of Name, an application and a statutory declarationwill need to be completed. See link below (and please ensure you use thechild forms): Urgent applications cost $161.00*. Non-urgent applications cost $127.00*.
http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/changeName/applicationForm.htm For a child to have their name/s changed, we need to have the consent ofboth the mother and father (who appeared on the birth certificate).

When the whereabouts of one parent is unknown, or they refuse to consent to the procedure, you will need to supply a court order approving the change of name. Identification You will each need to supply us 3forms of your own personal ID. One (1)form of identification should be provided from each list.
For persons born in NSW who do not have a birth certificate, three documents from List 2will suffice.

These can be photocopied, however you will need to consult a Justice of the Peace or by a Qualified Witness (as mentioned in website) tohave the statutory declaration and the photocopied ID certified.

If the parent/legal guardian cannot provide a document from List 1, and is not a Permanent Resident or Citizen of Australia, they must provide atleast one document from list 2 and two documents from list 3. List 1 List 2 List 3 · Australian Birth · Current Australian · Medicare Card Certificate photo driver’s · Current Credit or ATM · Australian licence card Citizenship · Current Passport · Centrelink or Veterans · Certificate or · Current Firearms Affairs Card Naturalisation Licence · Security Card / Crowd Certificate Control Licence · Certificate of · Tertiary Education Evidence of Resident Institution ID Card Status (The visa · Australian Taxation endorsement in the Office Group passport is Certificate, insufficient to assessment notice or confirm permanent advice resident status) · Council land rate or · New Zealand Citizens. water rat notices, Must provide NZ electricity or other Citizenship utility accounts with Certificate and/or NZ current residential Birth Certificate, address together with · Defence Force or Passport to comply Police Service photo with List 1. NZ ID card Citizens must also · High School or comply with List 2 University Diplomas and three months residence in NSW Identification - for Children

If your child was born in NSW please provide at least one (1) form of thechild's identification from the following list: Letter from Medical PractitionerSocial Security family payment advice Letter from school/preschool confirming enrolment detailsMedicare card Latest school report Current passportBankbook If your child was born outside NSW or overseas please provide: Your child's full Birth Certificate.

The Birth Certificate must be inEnglish. If it is in another language, it must be translated by anaccredited translator.Australian Citizenship Certificate, or Certificate of Resident Status,containing the child's full name and date of birth if the child was bornoutside AustraliaOne (1) form of the child's identification from the following list: Letter from Medical PractitionerSocial Security family payment adviceLetter from school/preschool confirming enrolment detailsMedicare cardLatest school reportCurrent passportBankbook Evidence of at least three (3) months residence in New South Wales from anyone of the following documents.

It must include at least one parent’s name and full address. The document must be between three (3) and six (6) monthsold: Bank/Credit Card StatementElectricity/Phone billSchool report/Pre-school or Day-Care noticeBank passbookTenancy Agreement / Contract / Rent receiptsRates Notice If your child was born in NSW and already has a NSW Birth Certificate or aNSW Change of Name Certificate and you wish to change the child's name, youmust return the original certificate/s (including any birth extracts)

If your child was born in another state or overseas and you have previouslyregistered a child's change of name with the NSW Registry, you must returnthe previous Change of Name Certificate with your application. Postal Application Lodgements Once you have completed the application form, you can post it to theRegistry along with certified photocopies of your identification.

For postal applications, send them to:NSW Registry of Births Deaths & MarriagesGPO Box 30,Sydney NSW 2001 In Person Lodgements at the RegistryIf you want to lodge your application form in person, just attend one ofthe Registry offices at: Sydney35 Regent St, CHIPPENDALE NSW 20088:00am – 4:30pm Newcastle95 Tudor St, HAMILTON NSW 23038:00am – 4:30pm WollongongUnit 2, 74 Kembla St, WOLLONGONG NSW 25008:00am – 4:30pm

If you require any further assistance, please contact us or visit ourwebsite at www.bdm.nsw.gov.au.

Registry of Births Deaths & MarriagesStreet Address: 35 Regent St, Chippendale NSW 2008Postal Address: GPO Box 30, Sydney NSW 2001Telephone: 1300 655 236Website: www.bdm.nsw.gov.au

[Hokey Pokey]

We want to change Olivia's too, but we need my ex's permission because he is on the birth certificate.

I can't seem to get in contact with him, and the courts will not see me (to change it that way) until I have proven that I have taken every means to find and locate him myself, which includes hiring a PI.. :mad:

[TyBean]

OneBabyBoy - So with going to court.... does legal aide help??... or is this not an issue they would deal with??.... and do I need my ex's permission to hyphernate it?

I am dead adament I want his name changed.... after everything he has done he doesn't deserve naming right of Tyler :mad: and it infuriates me that I was stupid enough to back down and give in once Tyler was born (as originally I wanted Tyler to have mine until the ex and I were married).

subaruforestermum - so do you need a stat dec for each individual thing? or just one overall??.... and does it account for things like bank accounts etc.... and does it also mean Tyler can choose to legally change it at a certain age without his fathers consent??

ashleerose - thanks for that info.... does it still apply in Qld?

Kristy - that mega sucks!!! the money involved in a pi alone :mad: that is just ridiculous.... if they have nothing to do with their kids why should have have so many rights!!! thats the biggest thing that urks me up!!! :hugs: to you

[Hokey Pokey]

I called legal aide and they basically told me I have to track him down myself before the courts would see me. Yes it angers me too!

[OneBabyBoy]

OneBabyBoy - So with going to court.... does legal aide help??... or is this not an issue they would deal with??.... and do I need my ex's permission to hyphernate it?


Yeah you still need his permission to hyphenate it but what I meant is that he might be more likely to agree to that than a full surname change.

You could call legal aid and ask them - I'm not sure if they do that.

Even if it turns out that you can't legally change it you can still just tell everyone his surname is yours and at school they will call him whatever you ask them to. It will only be on legal papers like birth cert and passport that has the correct legal surname. I am more comfortable that my surname is at least there legally if only hyphenated. I fought with my ex for months about it and he was just not going to budge. No way would he let me change it to my surname only. The hyphenating was a compromise.

[TyBean]

Grrr... they get far too many rights for the way they treat us.... most of us are single for serious reasons and they still get every right under the sun!!! :mad::banghead::geek:

I will be giving legal aide a call on Monday for sure!!

I will ask him about hyphenation.... he might budge on that.... but he "refuses to allow me to change HIS sons name" (his words... I just love the "his" bit...):rolleyes:

but from now on I'll call him by my last name I think!!!

(oh and what about things like medicare cards??)

[~Alicia]

My Mum and Dad split up when I was about three. I've always used Mum's last name. My legal name was Dad's, but for most things, I just used Mum's.




:hugs:

[subaruforestermum]

subaruforestermum - so do you need a stat dec for each individual thing? or just one overall??.... and does it account for things like bank accounts etc.... and does it also mean Tyler can choose to legally change it at a certain age without his fathers consent??

Well to open bank accounts and enrol in school, mum took her birth certificate and ours, and it showed her name as being the same, she also explained the situation and that was fine. I enrolled in tafe, using my mothers name too, centrelink all in her maiden name! We explained the situation to centrelink too!

When I got my license I needed to provide a stat dec to say that I have changed my name back to my mothers. They have to keep the original, so basically if when you need it, type up one main copy and print it off and get it signed by a JP, makes it easier than having to retype it each time, but yeah the place you are giving it to needs a signed original to keep on their records!

It does mean a bit of stuffing around, but it meant it saved in legal costs, and also meant we didnt have to have contact with my father! And I have never had a problem apart from opening an account for my son! But we got around that, even got the first home buyers grant, a gaming license, both government departments!

[TyBean]

that sounds so much easier!!!... so can I do it for Tyler even though he is only 15 months or do I have to wait until he is a bit older to do that??... and what's the best place to get a stat dec from? :hugs:

[justme77]

my eldest boys have a hyphernated last name.
but i hardly use the ex's name.
at school and daycare they were enrolled under my last name. i just filled in the "known as" bit.
with centrelink and medicare they have both names.
I looked into changing the name to just mine also- but decided that seeing it hardly gets used i wouldnt bother.
i'll leave it up to the boys when they are older. i believe in qld when they are 12 they can sign the "change name" form themselves. so they can decide then what they use.

i know when the boys were little it seemed like i was having to use his name alot, coz little kids always have to be registered for this and that etc. but once they get to school - most things are sorted. i cant even remember the last time i had to use the ex's name.
it is a lot of stuffing around, and depends on how passionate you are about changing it.
but personally i didnt bother.