At AFG Law we regularly get enquiries from people wanting to change their child’s name and, whilst this may sound simple, it can be complicated. Our family solicitors can provide you with advice and assistance and guide you through the process.
Our solicitors can help establish who has parental responsibility. This is important as you need the consent of everyone with parental responsibility if you want to change a child’s name.
Our solicitors can help you establish consent and draft a change of name deed to ensure the process is done correctly. The document will need to be witnessed as well as signed by everyone who has parental responsibility.
If a change of name deed is completed without the consent of all people with parental responsibility, then an application can be made to court to reverse the name change
If the other parent doesn’t consent, then our solicitors can advise you on making an application to court and how the court will approach the application so you can present the strongest case that it is in the child’s best interests for an order to be granted.
When considering changing a child’s name you need to think about why you want to change your child’s name and the consequences for your child if their surname is changed; how will it affect their bond with the other parent and wider family, their personal identity etc.
Our expert solicitors can advise you about what the court looks at when making an order under the Children Act 1989.
