A client asked: My wife and I have been raising her son. The biological
father had passed. How can we change his surname to mine?
You can change the surname of a
minor:
·
If a child is born out of wedlock and
the mother marries a person other than the child's biological father and wishes
to change the child’s surname to that of her husband.
·
If a mother, after her divorce from
or the death of her husband (father of child), wishes to change the child's
surname to her maiden surname or to another surname she bore legally; or if she
has remarried, to the surname of her new husband.
·
If a child is born out of wedlock but
registered under the biological father's surname and the mother wishes to
change the child's surname to hers
·
If a minor is under the care of a
guardian and the guardian wishes to change the child's surname to his/hers.
·
Other situations not mentioned above
where a good and sufficient reason for the change exists.
Applications must be on a duly
completed Form BI-193.
Requirements:
·
The natural father's written consent,
unless waived by a competent court is a statutory requirement in the case where
the child was born in wedlock.
·
The mother’s husband, whose surname
the child is to assume, must also give his written consent to the assumption.
·
Both the natural parents’ written
consent is required as well as a good and sufficient reason, in writing, for
the change. Obviously, in this case – because the father has died – his consent
is not a requirement.
