Can I only Partially Change my Name after Divorce

[charlie9]

I am recently divorced and as soon as the Absolute came through
I changed my name with my bank. Since then, I've got cold feet about having a different name to my DC's. Does anyone know if I can just change my name on certain things and leave it as my married name on others?

I have a different surname to my daughter and until Christmas had never had a problem. I carry a letter from my partner stating he has given me permission to travel and that gives his contact details. I also carry a copy of my daughter's birth certificate. I hit a snag passing through German passport control who told me there was no proof my partner had done the letter and that I needed to carry a copy of his passport as well!

Luckily I held my tongue about how easy it must be for someone determined to leave without their child's father's permission to photoshop the signature from the copy of the passport to a letter. At this rate I will need a filing cabinet for all the paperwork I have to carry!

Probably someone can correct me if i am wrong but i thought that you can only have one "legal" name at any given time. When you change by deed poll you are effectivelly giving up your old name. Obviously if you want to keep a name for "informal" situations like talking to the school or professionally at work or a pen name for writing you can do that.

My point being that you can only "partially change name" in informal situations.

So Nolim - when I divorce which will hopefully be soon, does my name legally revert to my maiden name or am I able to continue to use my married name? I want to for now as my DC are very young...

I have no idea chups!
But i presume it doesnt happen automaticaly and you do have to do something.
Maybe some mneter can comment on that?

Just as your name didn't change automatically when you got married (you had to notify each agency and company of the change) I can't see why it would change again when you divorce, unless and until you notify each agency and company of the change.

I was asked for proof that I was abroad with ds' dad's permission last year - but as with tempo, bizarrely upon re-entry to the UK. So the problem is not going abroad but rather one British citizen (me) bringing another British citizen (ds) into Britain.

I got divorced last summer and I still have the same name I changed to when I got married. The divorce certificate didn't mention any change being necessary and no one seems to have come after me so I think I'm ok

Years on from divorce and I'm sort of half and half...have even managed a mortgage and speeding points with documents in 2 names..did keep passport in married name as that seemed a faff too far.

Even manage work with job offer contract in one name and bank account in maiden..have changed job 3 times and no-one is bothered.

Oh and have credit cards in married name...that just amuses me as ex was a real spender so has often stopped me making silly o clock alcohol and amazon purchases.

Interestingly my job requires dbs clearance which is always done in my married name and that was spelled 2 different ways on my last clearance, exdh got his passport sent in the late 90's with his dob 10 years out so I don't put much faith in officialdom's ability to get names right, so in that spirit I am whichever one I feel like being today.

I couldn't wait to get rid of my maiden name (father was abuser) and I kept my married name on separation. Easier to have same name as son.

One thing I would say is that due to money laundering regulations, if you have different names on different IDs you may find it hard to open savings accounts, make house purchase, etc. We have just had a case at work where a lady was prevented from opening an ISA because she had applied in her married name but her IDs still showed maiden name. (Why she didn't just apply in her maiden name I have no idea.) So just one to be aware of there.

Your "legal" name in England is the one by which you are known, and it can be any name you like - your maiden name, married name, double-barrel, completely invented or chosen at random. As long as you're not changing it to deceive people (which may be a crime) you can call yourself anything you want. But it's usually a PITA to run two names at the same time, and also to persuade others to use a different name for you (eg a bank) unless you can assure them that the name really is your new identity (marriage, divorce and deedpoll being generally accepted).

They seem to relax about written proof of whether you should be travelling with a particular child once the child is big enough to answer confidently for themselves.

I never changed mine back. By the time the divorce came through I was used to being called xxx - and I didn't want a different name to my son.

Thanks so much - will stick with the married name, even though it means I share my name with my ex MIL. . luckily she's lovely and I use an abbreviation

I have a different name from my kids and have never had any issue with immigration in Canada, US or other European countries, so I'm always baffled by these threads that say it's an issue in the UK. Women with different names from their children is not out of the ordinary.

Nando - I find it baffling too. Particularly as it seems to be more usual to be asked on re-entry, WTF point is this trying to make?

As a way of detecting child abduction it is surely crude to the point of completely useless.