Changing your child's name isn't easy, but it can be done. Here are all the steps you need to go through to get there.
You called your son Herménégilde and he wants to be called Pierre? Named your daughter after her grandmother and they can't stand it? Your son is called Thomas Matte and you did not realize that it gives Tom Matte at school? Divorced due to domestic violence and can't see her last name in paint anymore? Never mind, the government has planned for this and allows you to change your child's name. On the other hand, you will first have to demonstrate that you are not doing this on a whim.
Who can apply?
As soon as a person turns 18, they can submit the application themselves. Before that, it is the parents or guardian who can initiate a request for a name change. To submit this request, the person must be a Canadian citizen and have proof of residence in Quebec for more than one year.
By judicial or administrative process
Depending on the situation that requires a name change, you can obtain the change through legal or administrative means.
If for example your child hasbeen abandoned by a parent, if he has obtained a judgment of parental forfeiture or if he is adopted, it is possible to change his name family through the court. This is what is meant by legal proceedings. If this is your case, contact a legal advisor who will help you with the process and explain how it works.
In other cases, you must proceed through administrative channels. This is particularly the case for those who don't like their name, who have a name of foreign origin that is too difficult to pronounce, whose name lends itself to ridicule, who already use a another name for more than five years or who want to add a last name.
Preliminary analysis
If you take the administrative route, you must first contact the Registrar of Civil Status by sending a Request for preliminary analysis for a change of name request. This request is free.
The preliminary analysis should not be taken lightly, because you will write down the reasons for this name change and this is what will determine whether the Registrar of Civil Status will take your request seriously or not. If your application is accepted, you will receive by mail the documents that will allow you to make an official application.
The official name change request
Thereafter, you will need to swear an affidavit and complete the paperwork. The request for a change of first or last name costs $135 and thesurname change, if done simultaneously with that of a parent, costs $27.25.
When sending the request, you must notify the other parent officially (by registered mail) if the child is under 14 years old or the child himself if he is over 14 years old. You will also need to post official notices. At least four notices must appear: two notices must appear in the Gazette officielle du Québec and two notices must appear in a local newspaper, 7 days apart. You are exempt from publication if your child changes sex or if your baby is less than six months old.
If the other parent disagrees, he can send his opposition or remarks to the Registrar of Civil Status who will evaluate them and send them to the applicant.
Once the decision has been rendered
Once the application has been studied, the Registrar of Civil Status will inform you of his decision. You will then have 30 days to challenge the decision rendered, but if you intend to do so, it is strongly advised to seek the assistance of legal counsel.
Once the name change has been made, it is your responsibility to send the new name to all the departments and agencies concerned, except for a few that are subject to an agreement with the Director of marital status. In fact, if you fill out and sign the Request for simplified transmission of information relating to the change of name sent with the official request, the Registrar of Civil Status will contact theRégie de l'assurance maladie du Québec, the Régie des rentes du Québec, the Ministry of Employment and Social Solidarity, the Administrative Commission for Retirement and Insurance Plans, the Curateur public du Québec and the Commission occupational he alth and safety.
All these steps will take a few weeks during which it would be good to talk about them regularly with your child. For this child, a name change will have a huge impact at school, at home and elsewhere and it is better to prepare for it.
