What should I do about my name???

[KeepSmiling89]

Just looking for some opinions here.
I'll be applying for a divorce from my abusive ex later this month and have been contemplating what to do about my surname. For the sake of anonymity etc, I'm going to use the oh so generic "Smith" and "Jones" surnames...

My married name is Mrs Smith...ex is Mr Smith. DD's surname is also Smith. My maiden name is Miss Jones.

I would like to go back to being Miss Jones again, but I don't want to lose that 'connection' name-wise to my DD (she's 2 years old for info).

I've also heard something about not being able to take DD abroad if we've got different surnames without ex's permission or something...or is that a check that's carried out regardless of names?

I'm considering just changing my title to Ms Smith so I still have the same surname as DD but no longer identified as married.

Also wondering if the hassle of changing my name back to my maiden name is actually worth it??

@PurpleBugz I'm still on the fence about having more kids. If I met the right person down the line, I'd be open to the idea, but right now, I'm focused on rediscovering myself after 5 years of marriage (8 years together) to a slimeball of a human being. I'm also focused on saving for a deposit for a house of my own one day and living my own life with DD.

My passport still has my maiden name - it expired in 2020 and never needed it since before then really (last holiday abroad was in 2018). Everything else has my married name.
Very tempted to go back to Jones, but change title to Ms...but I've been Smith for so long now and most people know me as Smith these days! Can I just go by my first name, without a surname like Cher?!😂

If he was abusive I would personally want to cut all ties with his name, but my friend was in an abusive relationship and decided to keep his name to have the same as her daughters (which really wound her ex and his new wife up as they didn't want her to keep the name).
You have to have your ex's permission to take the children abroad regardless of their surname unless you have a child arrangement order that states the children reside with you or a residence order.