changing dd's surname, or rather just 'calling her by a new one, ie mine not her dad

[piratecat]

we were married when we had dd and his name is onthe birth cert. we have joint parental responsibility (chokes on cup of tea)!

I know that i need his permission to change it by deedpole, but what about her just using my maiden name?

How will that work, if it is even allowed? She is a minor.

I read that as long it's not used for fraudulent purposes. Who do i need to inform, and how would it be vliad, at say the doctors or school.

obv can't change passport so woulld have to use birth name when travelling.

No the law does not dictate that, nor is a PSO a knee-jerk reaction. Your view of how judges behave is a long way from the truth. If a judge behaved like that they could expect their decisions to be overturned on appeal. However, by changing a child's name without a court order you are putting yourself on the back foot if the absent parent does sue. That doesn't mean a PSO would automatically be granted but it puts you in a weaker position than you would be in if you had obtained a court order first.

If the father plays little or no role in the child's life and the child is happy with the change of name it is unlikely that there would be any problems getting a court order.

my views?

I do realise now, since asking and researching that a court order will be necessary and the correct way to do this. sorry if i misunderstood you tho?

Piratecat - If your dd wants her name changed that is a good start. How much notice the court will take of that depends on her age. The older she is the more likely it is that the courts will follow her wishes.

The other major factor considered will be the role the father plays in her life. If he plays little or no role in her life it should be relatively easy to get the court order. If he maintains regular contact it will be difficult to get an order unless your daughter is old enough for her views to be the deciding factor. There is no hard and fast rule on age but if she is, say, 14 the court should give a lot of weight to her views.

Sorry Piratecat - my post timed at 11:59 was aimed at Magaly, not you. I hadn't seen your posts when I wrote it. The 12:05 post is for you.

How old is your dd?

she is 8.
Not the greatest age i know, re her views.
so now i need to find out where to get the forms and such.

thanks for advice bridge!

I think you should wait a bit. Until she really knows her own mind and what this will mean.

snorbs, because at that point I thought their father would like, be in their lives and give a shit about their welfare. I accepted the 'norm' unquestioningly then, and now my experiences and the lives my children are living (without him in it but WITH total support from their maternal side of family) have made me question this stupid norm. (even when it is law)

The law is summarized here;

www.terry.co.uk/change_of_surname_01.html

and here in the House of Lords judgment Dawson v Wearmouth;

www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199899/ldjudgmt/jd990325/dawson1.htm

prhbridge, if the courts come after me, I'll let you know. In the meantime, my children grow up with my name (as well as their fathers. It's not like I even tried to deny his,. I just added my own. I think the law can be an ass but I will trust in judges having the brains to look at each case for a moment and use their discretion before fining a mother or throwing her in jail!!!!

My parents had unofficially changed my name by registering me in schools with my stepdads name which I was fine with however it became
a problem when the school organised a foreign trip ansd my name didn't match my passport. I had to change it by deedpoll when I was 16 so that my gcse's were in the correct name. I have had to changed dd1's surname legally as I was single when I had her, luckily for me twunty ex refused pr.