Change of surname upon divorce

Contents

Change of surname upon divorce
How to change your last name after a divorce to your maiden name
Can I keep my spouse’s last name in a divorce?
Right to change surname to maiden name upon divorce
Name change upon divorce
Change of surname after divorce through the registry office
Replacement of passport and personal documents
State fee for making changes
Family Lawyer Services

The legislation allows spouses to choose the common surname of one of them at the time of marriage, or each to leave his own. Most often, the issue of changing the surname is faced by women who take the surname of a man when registering a marriage. During a divorce, a wife has the right to keep her husband’s surname or change it to a premarital (maiden) one, while no one has the right to demand from her, including through the court, to return her former surname after a divorce.

Thus, changing the surname during a divorce is possible only voluntarily. At the same time, it should be taken into account that such a change in personal data is carried out by the registry office and entails the need to replace the main significant documents, since after the issuance of a certificate of name change, the passport becomes invalid.

To change the surname to a maiden name during a divorce, you need to clarify in what order the divorce is carried out. If the spouses agree to a divorce and they do not have minor children, they can immediately contact the registry office and indicate the premarital surname in the application for divorce. If the divorce occurs in court, then it will be possible to apply to the registry office and change the surname after the court decides on the dissolution of the marriage.

You can also change your surname to your maiden name some time after the divorce. To do this, you need to contact the registry office with the appropriate application and pay the state duty. At the same time, legally, the whole process will no longer be associated with the dissolution of the marriage, so it will be carried out in a general manner.

How to change your last name after a divorce to your maiden name

According to the Civil Status Registration Rules, if one of the spouses changed his surname upon entering into marriage, then in the event of its dissolution, he has the right, at will:

leave this surname after a divorce;
return the surname that he had before marriage.

If the change occurs when applying for a divorce, then you can only change the surname to a premarital one, and not an arbitrary one.

Thus, during a divorce, a woman has the right, at her discretion, to leave the man’s surname or return the maiden name. At the same time, a man does not have the right to oblige his wife to change her surname. An exceptional case is the situation when the marriage is declared invalid.

If it is established in court that the party knowingly entered into a fictitious marriage, then by a court decision, all legal events that arose during marriage will be terminated, including the wife will be given a premarital surname.

Can I keep my spouse’s last name in a divorce?

Is it possible to keep a man’s last name after a divorce? Can a husband take his last name from his wife during a divorce?

As in the case of marriage, the issue of changing the surname during a divorce is decided by each man independently, as stated in the Family Code of Ukraine. Accordingly, you can leave the man’s surname or change it to premarital at your request.

At the same time, the law does not allow in any way to oblige a wife to change her surname to a premarital one in the event of a divorce. Even if a man applies to the court, a decision will be made to refuse to accept the statement of claim. The court can oblige to change the surname, if only a positive decision is made in the case of recognizing the marriage as invalid.

Right to change surname to maiden name upon divorce

If, during a divorce, the spouse decides to change the surname, then the procedure will differ depending on how the divorce process takes place:

In the simplest case, you can get a divorce by submitting a joint application to the registry office. However, this method is possible if the spouses do not have common minor children, and they both agree to a divorce.

In other cases, you must go to court. Then it will be necessary to wait for the completion of the divorce proceedings, and after the entry into force of the court decision, you can apply to the registry office.

Most often, changing the surname of the spouse is decided after the registration of the dissolution of the marriage has already taken place and the appropriate certificate has been issued. However, the change of surname after a divorce does not occur in connection with the dissolution of marriage. In this case, it is not necessary to change the surname to a premarital one – you can choose any.

Name change upon divorce

If the marriage is dissolved when applying to the registry office, then in order to change the surname, the wife needs to indicate the premarital (maiden) in the application for divorce in the column for assigning the surname. After 30 days, the spouse must apply to the registry office to obtain a certificate of divorce, which will indicate the changed surname. Based on this document, the passport and, accordingly, other personal documents will be replaced.

If the divorce process took place in court, then it is considered that the marriage is officially terminated from the moment the court decision enters into legal force. From the moment the court decision comes into force, you can change all the necessary documents by presenting this decision.

Change of surname after divorce through the registry office

If the change of surname occurs after the dissolution of the marriage, it is possible to change it to any chosen one, not necessarily premarital, in accordance with the Rules for registering acts of civil status.

However, the application will need to indicate the reasons for changing the surname – for example, dissonance, difficulty in pronunciation, a desire to return the premarital surname. At the same time, if other reasons are indicated, then the registry office may consider them disrespectful. In this case, a reasoned refusal decision must be sent, which can be appealed in court.

To change the surname after a divorce, the ex-wife must apply to the registry office at the place of residence or birth registration with an application for a name change and provide the following package of documents:

the passport;
birth certificate;
certificate of divorce (if any);
birth certificates of minor children – for when the parents change their name, changes must be made to the birth certificate of the child;
receipt of payment of state duty;

Within a month, the registry office will consider the application, after which a certificate of name change will be issued. On the basis of the document, the personal documents of the applicant must be replaced.

Replacement of passport and personal documents

After changing the surname, the main document to be replaced in the first place is an identity card. According to the current legislation of Ukraine, when changing the name, surname and other personal data, it is necessary to apply for a replacement passport.

That is, otherwise the passport becomes invalid. In addition, if you do not submit documents for its replacement in a timely manner, administrative liability arises.

The law does not prescribe that when changing personal data, it is mandatory to change the passport – it will be valid until the expiration of the specified period of its validity. However, you can do this if you wish. If it is not changed, then for trips outside Ukraine it is enough to present the main passport, which will contain information about previously issued documents.

The taxpayer number is assigned for life, however, the certificates themselves should be changed, as they will contain preliminary data about the name. You should also make changes to the workbook. At the same time, documents on ownership of property and education are not subject to replacement.

After receiving a new passport, it may be necessary to reissue bank cards. The fact is that when contacting the bank, the client is identified upon presentation of a passport, therefore, in order to be able to use the cards uninterruptedly, it is necessary to contact the bank and fill out an application for changing personal data.

State fee for making changes

The amount of the state duty when changing a surname will depend on the circumstances under which these changes are made:

If the surname changes during the divorce process (when filing an application for divorce with the registry office, then only the standard state duty for divorce is paid):
If the name change occurs over time after the divorce, then a state duty is paid for the issuance of a name change certificate. Moreover, if the applicant has a child, then it will also be necessary to pay a state fee for making changes to the birth certificate.

Details for paying the state duty can be obtained by directly visiting the registry office or on the website of the institution to which you plan to apply. You can pay it through the cash desk of a bank branch, ATM or directly at the registry office.