DD's have a hyphenated double-barrel surname, can i leave off XPs surname?

[Tortoise]

DD1 and DD2 have my surname-xps surname.
They currently have 2 hrs supervised contact at a contact centre once a month.
I hate them having his name and sometimes just leave his name off.
Is it possible to tell school, Drs etc that they are now just my surname or does it have to be done legally?

Does he have PR? You can't change a child's name without the permission of all those with PR. That includes (AFAIK) change by usage (ie just telling people the name is different) It also puts the school in a very difficult position as legally they aren't allowed to do this and it can cause confusion with examination entries etc. It's also a link for the children to their wider family on their father's side.

Yes it is. I just rang the surgery when H left and told them my son was now called by my maiden name - they just changed it, no questions asked.

But for any legal documentation - passport, etc, DCs will have to have the full surname if it is on their birth certificates, which it sounds like it is.

My exH's daughters by his ex-P had a double-barrelled surname and they have always only been known by one of the surnames only. (Except for passports and..later..mortgage applications nd circs where you have to produce their birth certificates as compulsory proof of ID)

You might want to consider though whether it is the girls' long-term interests to have this name confusion. How old are they and if old enough, what do they call themselves?

And whether we like it or not, he is their father and they may, later in life, have wanted to retain the name.

I did not have to consider those questions much as ds was 6 monthds when his father fecked off abroad and has never been in contact since. He knows himself by my maiden name and i am in process of getting a changev of name order to make it official so I can get his passport changed.

If your ex agrees to a change of name order you can change it officially - but would your ex-p agree? It costs 175 quid to go to court for the order.

HTH

I'm not sure if it is legal or not, but I quite often just use my surname for my ds's even though I am with their father. Obviously at the doctors or at school they have their double barrelled name, but in other places like toddler groups we just use my name. It works fine.

I have found that the bank allows cheques to be paid in with only one of the surnames on so I guess it must be ok to just use one surname as long as you are not doing it for fraudulent reasons.

Thanks for replies.
He has PR for DD2 as she was born after the law was changed, but unsure about DD1, i think not though.

They have no contact with anyone else in his family. His parents were supervising contact a year or so ago but they ended that, now they don't see them at all. (They have other grandchildren who they often visit in the same town as me and know where we live and have my phone number)

Girls are 7 and nearly 6. They call themselves both names mostly but sometimes just my surname.

I don't know if he would agree to it, XP was emotionally abusive and physically abusive to my DS1.

Yes, it is illegal.

It is illegal to change the name of a child or even cause the child to be known by another name than that on the birth certificate.

The courts look very dimly on any parent seeking to cut the links between a child and his or her paternal family. If my ex tried this I would have her in court in a moment.

Whether you like it or not, your ex is their father. If he has PR you cannot change it without his permission.