My ex-partner has changed the children's surnames without telling me. What should I do?

I have been seperated from my ex-partner for over a year now. I have maintained good contact with our two kids despite our difficulties, but now she has changed the children's surnames without telling me. We weren't married. What should I do?

A childs name - foremame or surname - can be changed at any time provided it's not done to defraud or deceive another person. The parent simply starts using the new name. But there are certain limitations, and details on the birth certificate cannot be changed except in limited circumstances.

You do not say whether you have parental responsibility for your children. When parents are not married, the mother will automatically have parental responsibility, but unmarried fathers do not, unless you and their mother jointly registerd or re-registered your children's births after December 2003. Or you made a parental responsibility agreement witnessed by a court official, or a court granted it to you. If you do have parental responsibility, your ex-partner can only lawfully change the name if you agree.

However, courts have advised that if there is any dispute about changing a child's name, the proper way to resolve it is through a court order. So even if you do not have parental responsibility you can still apply for a court order. When deciding whether a child's name should be changed, the court will consider the child's best interests. This includes any social implications of the change of the name, the long term interests of the child and the importance of retaining the existing name, for example, to preserve links with you the father. In practice courts are reluctant to agree to a child's name being changed unless there are exceptional circumstances.

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