Mcgregor

(This was first published August 8, 2005)

LET'S FACE it, marriage has certain legal consequences which cannot be avoided, such as the fact that it automatically renders your will void.

But, did you know that there are some changes which occur on marriage which can be avoided? For example, you do not have to automatically take your husband's surname. The Marriage Act does not require it and, in fact, there is nothing to prevent your husband from taking your surname. You can choose to retain your maiden name, or adopt some form of your husband's name that suits you, for example, the double-barrelled name.

MAIDEN NAME

But the name you choose becomes effective when you start to use it. A divorced woman who had taken her husband's name, can choose to revert to the use of her maiden name or continue to use his name. (Usually, you will need to present your birth certificate and a copy of the Decree Absolute, if required).

If she assumed a double-barrelled name when she first married, then divorced and retained that name, she could continue to retain that name after a subsequent marriage or assume her new husband's name or a new combination of the names of her new husband and her ex-husband.

She may eventually forget what name she had to begin with.

Based on the Registration (Births and Deaths) Act, if you are married at the time you conceive a child or get married at any time prior to the child's birth, your husband is presumed to be the father of that child and his name will be entered as 'father' in the general register of births at the Registrar General's Department.

'ILLEGITIMATE CHILD'

If you are unmarried or widowed when your child is born, your child is still called an 'illegitimate child', although, 'nuh bastard nuh deh again'. The name of the father of an illegitimate child will be inserted in the general register of births only if:

i) The man acknowledges that he is the father of the child and signs the registration form

ii) The man signs a declaration stating that he is the father of the child

iii) You sign a declaration naming a person as the father and send that person a notice, requiring that he object within three months after the date he receives the notice, and he then admits paternity or does not deny it. (The man registered as father may apply to the court to have his name removed from the entry in the register by contending that the information you gave was false or he did not receive the notice.)

If you have given birth to an illegitimate child, it seems the easiest way to ensure that the father's name is entered in the register is to ensure that he accompanies you when you go to register the birth of the child and signs the registration form.

A child will usually be given the father's surname but, with the consent of the father in the case of a married woman, or in exercise of her choice, in the case of an unmarried woman or widow, a child may be given any surname.

Sherry-Ann McGregor is an attorney at law with the firm Nunes Scholefied DeLeon &Co. Send your feedback and questions to:Lifestyle@ gleanerjm.com