• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Phone: 3465 9332

Logo
  • Home
  • Our Team
    • Courtney Barton – Legal Practice Director
    • George Finn – Practice Manager
    • Chris Colwill – Partner
    • Elizabeth McAulay – Senior Associate
    • Rachel Elaurant – Solicitor & Support Team Leader
    • Shinai Fisher – Solicitor
    • Shania Fernandes – Solicitor
    • Jessica Beath – Paralegal
    • Chloe Absalom – Law Clerk
    • Cailey Brazel – Legal Assistant
    • Emily Smith – Legal Assistant
    • Megan Peace – Senior Associate
  • Family Law Services
    • Divorce Property Settlement Lawyer Brisbane
    • Spousal Maintenance Lawyers
    • Superannuation Splitting & Advice Lawyers
    • Child Custody Lawyer Brisbane
    • Child Support Lawyer
    • Child Relocation Family Lawyers
    • Child Abduction Family Lawyers
    • Fixed Fee Consent Order Brisbane
    • Binding Financial Agreements
    • Fixed Fee Divorce Lawyers
    • Domestic Violence Lawyer – DVO Domestic Violence Order
    • Family Court Process
    • Family Mediation
  • Our Story
  • Fixed Fees
  • Common questions
    • Things to know before you separate
      • Separation Advice: Things to do before separation
      • What to do and what not to do before you separate
    • Things you need to know following separation
      • What is my partner entitled to if we split?
      • Separation vs Divorce – what is the difference?
      • Protect your assets and your family after separation
      • The Family Court Mediation Process Explained
      • Understanding the Difference Between Separation and Divorce
      • 6 things you MUST know before hiring a family lawyer
      • Top 10 Myths in family Law Finally Exposed
      • Honesty is the best policy – Why tell your divorce lawyer everything
      • Top 15 things people do wrong in a property dispute
      • Time Limits in Property Settlement
      • Family Court Process
      • Why you should formalise your property settlement
      • Fixed Fee Consent Order Brisbane
      • Duty of Disclosure
      • Beware: failure to disclose may derail your consent order
      • Can the court order someone to leave a house? – Ouster Orders
      • Who stays in the home after separation?
      • Property Acquired after Separation – how is it treated?
      • Post Separation contributions
      • Finally revealed: Top 10 things people do wrong in child custody matters
      • COSTS ORDERS
      • Going back to work after Divorce
      • Beware the criminal consequences of false allegations of sexual abuse
      • Divorce – What you need to know
      • Petrie Family Law Expert speaks about ‘The Twelve year Itch’
    • Spousal Maintenance
      • Spousal Maintenance Lawyers
      • Calculating Spousal Maintenance
      • Spousal Maintenance – Do I have to support my ex after divorce?
      • Bodilly & Hand: Spousal Maintenance ordered 17 years after separation
    • Parenting / Child Custody
      • The Ins and Outs of Shared Custody Arrangements
      • How Domestic Violence affects Parental Responsibility
      • What is sole parental responsibility?
      • What does Equal Shared Parental Responsibility mean?
      • How does a DVO affect parenting orders?
      • I want sole custody of my child
      • Do you want sole Custody? Here’s what NOT to do.
      • Most Common Child Custody Arrangements
      • Drug use in family law explained
      • Interim Parenting Orders
      • How to deal with false allegations in family law
      • What is substantial and significant time?
      • Am I a parent?
      • Court Ordered Paternity Test – What, Why and How
      • My ex is in contravention of a Parenting Order. What can I do?
      • Gay Couple Win Appeal on sperm donor ‘parent’
      • How to spend more time with your children
      • Parental Alienation in Family Court Disputes – Part 1
      • Parental Alienation in Family Court Disputes: Part 2
      • Im not a parent. Can I apply for a parenting order? Non-Parent Parenting orders explained.
      • Can Parenting Orders be changed?
      • When are a child’s views given weight by a Court?
      • What age can a child decide where they live?
      • Application to change parenting orders because of children’s changed views dismissed
      • When can you change your child’s surname?
      • Courtney’s Cases: Interim Orders appealed as Judge avoids determining issues
    • Hague Convention & International Child Abduction
      • Child Abduction Family Lawyers
      • Courts to consider family violence in Hague Convention cases
      • Rights to return of your child if taken to a Non-Hague Convention country
    • Relocation of children & Prevention
      • Child Abduction Family Lawyers
      • Child Relocation Family Lawyers
      • Unilateral relocation of children
      • Prevention is better than Cure – Interim Relocation of Children Cases
      • International Travel with Children After Separation
      • Airport Watch List Orders / Pace Alert Orders
      • Relocation – Full Court confirms decision allowing ADF Mother a ‘blank cheque’ relocation to wherever posted in her employment
    • Protecting Assets
      • Can a discretionary trust protect my assets in a divorce?
      • 10 tips to Protect your Assets in a de facto relationship
      • How to uncover hidden assets to stop your ex reducing your entitlements
      • Injunction to stop my ex selling assets
      • Protect your assets and your family after separation
      • My ex is selling assets. What can I do??
      • Superannuation Splitting & Advice Lawyers
      • What is a Superannuation Payment Flag?
      • Dunworth & Faletti: Application for injunction to stop sale of property where jurisdiction not yet established
    • De Facto relationships
      • Am I in a De Facto Relationship?
      • Breakdown of a De Facto Relationship – Fairbairn v Radecki
      • Are contributions made prior to a de facto relationship considered?
      • Disclosure where jurisdiction is in issue
    • overseas orders
      • Impact of overseas divorce on Australian property settlement
      • Validity of Overseas Orders – Parenting, Marriage and Divorce Orders
      • Clayton & Bant – A multi-jurisdictional family law dispute
    • Property & Financial Settlement
      • Divorce Property Settlement Lawyer Brisbane
      • How does the property settlement process work?
      • Initial Contributions Count – 8 years + 1 child = 78%/82% to Husband
      • My Parents lent me money. Is it treated as a gift or a loan?
      • Post Separation contributions
      • Difference between property and a financial resource in family law
      • Assessing initial contributions in a long relationship
      • The Alter Ego Principle – When a Spouse uses a trust to hide assets
      • CGT rollover for marriage breakdowns – Ellison & Sandini Explained
      • How Trusts are dealt with in a Property Settlement
      • Pet Custody – Who gets the dog in a divorce?
      • Redundancy payment – how is it treated?
      • Future inheritances – when can they be taken into account?
      • What is just and equitable?
      • Is Domestic Violence Relevant in a Property Settlement?
      • Varying property orders
      • Defaulting on Property Orders is Dangerous
      • Effect of Bankruptcy on property settlement
      • Courtney’s Cases: Centrelink fraud or a fraudulent representation to the Court?
      • Limitation periods against solicitors for defective Financial Agreements
      • Court dismisses application for property settlement for same sex couple of 27 years
    • Binding Financial Agreements
      • Binding Financial Agreements
      • Is my Binding Financial Agreement Binding?
      • Does your Financial Agreement Protect you from a maintenance claim?
      • Financial Agreements & Spousal Maintenance & Income tested benefits
      • Superannuation Splitting in Financial Agreements
      • SETTING ASIDE A BINDING FINANCIAL AGREEMENT
    • Child Support
      • Child Support Lawyer
      • Does Child Support change if you get married? Child Support FAQs
      • I want to end a Binding Child Support Agreement
      • I want to challenge my child support assessment
    • Mediation Exemptions
      • Mediation
      • Can I go to court without doing mediation first?
      • Do I have to mediate before court? The exemptions Explained
      • NEWS ALERT – You do NOT need a s60I certificate to file your parenting application – Valack & Valack
    • Domestic Violence
      • Coercive Control finally criminalised in Queensland
      • Domestic Violence Lawyer – DVO – Domestic Violence Order
      • Common mistakes made in an application for a domestic violence order
      • Do’s and Don’ts when applying for a DVO to succeed
      • Is withholding a child domestic violence?
    • Narcissistic Abuse
      • Your Legal Guide to Divorcing a Narcissist – Narcissistic Abuse Explained
      • Top 10 Warning Signs of Narcissistic Abuse revealed
      • When is supervised time ordered? Is Narcissistic Abuse enough?
    • Unacceptable Risk
      • Child Custody and Mental Illness
      • What is unacceptable risk & when will a Court change residence?
      • Mother’s persistent accusation that the Father sexually abused their child results in orders for no time with the Mother
      • Change in residence for children because of Mother’s inability to protect the children from harm
    • Evidence in parenting proceedings
      • Admissibility of opinion evidence & expert evidence in family law matters
      • Recordings as evidence in Family Court
      • Admissibility of admissions at mediation in court proceedings
    • Covid-19
      • The Covid-19 Vaccination – Is mutual parental consent required?
      • I want to apply to the Family Court for inclusion in the Covid-19 List
    • Other Legal
      • NEWSFLASH – What are the New Family Law Rules?
      • Out With the Old, In With the New: Why Fixed Fees are better
      • Apprehended Bias – should Judges & lawyers have drinks pre-judgement?
      • Review of the Family Law System
      • Inquest of Jack & Jennifer Edwards – Lessons Learned
      • WARNING PRACTITIONERS: New Family Law Rules from 1 March 2018
    • Registrar’s decisions
      • Reviewing a Registrar’s decision
  • Family Law Videos
  • Family Mediation
  • Success Stories
  • Narcissistic Abuse
  • Contact Us

When can you change your child’s surname?

March 16, 2020

After separation, it is common for parents to change their surname, whether it be by reverting to their maiden name or when they remarry. Some parents never share the same surname.

When separation occurs, some parents feel that it is confusing for a child to have a different surname to them, particularly if the child is spending very little time with the other parent.

Do you want to change your child’s surname? Read on to find out what the the Court considers if one parent wishes to change a child’s surname post separation and what the options are if the other parent opposes the change.

What Does the Law Say?

Unless the Court has ordered otherwise, parents have equal shared responsibility for any children of the relationship. This means that both parents have responsibility for making decisions relating to the child’s long-term care, welfare and development. One parent cannot unilaterally make a decision in relation to major long term issues without the consent of the other parent.

A change to a child’s surname is considered to be a major long term issue under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) Consequently, parents must consult with each other before making a decision to change their child’s surname.

Where Parents Agree and There is Equal Shared Parental Responsibility

Where both parents agree to the change of name, a Change of Name Application form signed by both parents can be submitted to the Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages.

Where Parents Do Not Agree and There is Equal Shared Parental Responsibility

Where one parent does not agree to the change of name and there is equal shared parental responsibility, the parent wishing to change the child’s name must seek an order from the court to enable the child’s surname to be changed.

The Court will make the decision whether to make an order for the change of a child’s surname based on whether it is in the best interests of the child to do so.

This requires the Court to take into account a range of factors, including, but not limited to:

  1. The relationship between the children and the parent.
  2. How the change of name will affect the child.
  3. The reasons the change of name is being sought.

Where there are no current proceedings before the Family Law Courts, a parent may apply to the Magistrates Court instead for an order approving a change of name. The Magistrates Court will apply a similar range of factors to that of the Family Courts.

Where Parents Do Not Agree and There is Sole Parental Responsibility

Where a parent has sole parental responsibility for major long term decisions concerning their child they are not required under those court orders to consult with the other parent in relation to a change to their child’s surname.

However, that parent will still need to obtain the other parent’s consent and signature on the Change of Name Application form for the Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages in Queensland to accept the change: Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 2003 (Qld).

The only exception to this is where:

  • The applicant is the sole parent;
  • There is no other surviving parent; or
  • A Court approves the proposed changed name.

If a parent has an order that they have sole parental responsibility for their child but they are unable to obtain the other parent’s consent to the change of their child’s surname, the Registry requires a court order before it will make the change of name.

In this case, an Application can be made to the Magistrates Court, for an order to approve a change of name.

Reagan & Orton [2016] FamCA 330

When considering whether to change the child’s surname, the Court identified a number of factors which may be relevant to determining whether a change to a child’s surname is in the child’s best interests, including:

  • Any embarrassment likely to be experienced by the child if their name is different to the parent which they live with;
  • Any confusion of identity which may arise for the child if his or her name is changed or remains the same;
  • The effect any change in surname may have on the relationship between the child and the parent whose name the child bore during the relationship;
  • The effect of frequent or random changes in name;
  • The contact that the non-custodial parent has had and is likely to have in the future with the child;
  • The degree of identification that the child or children have with their non-custodial parent; and
  • The degree of identification that the child or children have with the parent they already live with.

The Court, in this case, ordered that it was in the child’s best interests that the mother be permitted to adopt a hyphenated surname for the child.  The Court took into account a wide range of matters including:

  • The child had spent irregular and limited time with the father since 2014;
  • The father did not file any evidence in relation to his objection to the change of name;
  • The child, at the time, was nearly five years old;
  • The father had a lack of engagement in the child’s life and the Court inferred that the child had a strong attachment to his mother as his primary carer;
  • The mother’s family continued to use their surname when referring to the child, despite the child’s birth certificate bearing the father’s surname;
  • The mother observed that the child has no association with the father’s surname; and
  • The child will commence kindergarten in 2017 and the mother sought to change the child’s surname before the commencement of kindergarten.

Summary

The court’s approach in Reagan & Orton is an example of the court’s approach to determining whether a change of a child’s surname is in the child’s best interests. However, the outcome in your matter will depend on the individual circumstances of your case.

The process where the other party does not agree can be complicated and daunting.

Contact us at Barton Family Lawyers today and book a reduced rate initial consultation on 3465 9332 for help regarding this process.

change a child's surname

Child, Commonly Asked Questions

Barton Family Law

Primary Sidebar

Online Enquiry

    Footer

    Areas of Practice

    • Child Custody Lawyer Brisbane
    • Divorce Property Settlement Lawyer Brisbane
    • Fixed Fee Divorce Lawyers
    • Domestic Violence Lawyer – DVO Domestic Violence Order
    • Superannuation Splitting & Advice Lawyers
    • Fixed Fee Consent Order Lawyers
    • Family Mediation Representation
    • Child Relocation Lawyers
    • Child Abduction Lawyers
    • Child Support Lawyer
    • Spousal Maintenance Lawyers
    • Family Court Process
    • Family Mediation
    • Binding Financial Agreement Lawyers

    What makes us different from other Law Firms?

    Our Brisbane Divorce & Family Lawyers:

    Only do family law all day every day. That makes us really good at what we do.

    Are dedicated to helping you work through your family law issues so you can have a fresh start.

    Have your best interests at heart.

    Have the knowledge and experience to solve your family law problems, no matter how complex.

    Will help you to reduce the conflict with your former partner.

    Will fight for you and your children.

    Provide exceptional quality service to you, tailored to your individual case needs.

    Will educate you about your options, the steps you need to take and we will develop a strategy to help you to achieve a fair outcome and the best practical outcome for you and your family.

    Will provide you with practical, realistic, commercial and strategic advice to empower you to make smart decisions following separation that will save you time, money and stress.

    Will deliver an outcome to you quickly and cost effectively, with fixed fees for certainty.

    Will do everything within our legal power to get you the best outcome for you and your family.

    Are with you, supporting you, every step of the way from negotiations, to mediation, to litigation and settlement.

    Individual liability limited by a scheme approved under professional standards legislation.

    Contact Us

    Petrie Office

    Address: 4/996 Anzac Avenue, Petrie QLD 4502

    Parking: Underground parking available at the back of the building via O’Loan Street

    Phone: 3465 9332

    Website: Petrie Family Lawyers

    Chermside Office

    Address: 822 Gympie Road, Chermside QLD 4032

    Parking: Across the road at Chermside Shopping Centre

    Phone: 3465 9332

    Website: Chermside Family Lawyers

    Barton Family Lawyers Logo

    Copyright | Disclaimer | Terms of Use | Privacy

    Call Us
    Book a Consultation
    Copyright © 2023 | Website hosted by Lift Legal Marketing