Wrong name on birth certificate

Dear Mrs Macaulay,

My mother has been living in England for about 15 years. She has finally got her documents sorted out and now she is in the process of applying for her indefinite stay. When she was born, she was given her mother’s last name because her father had refused to accept her as his child since he was married.

When I was born, I was registered by one of my maternal grandfather’s relatives who assumed that my mother had her father’s name, so she wrote it as such on my birth certificate.

Now my mother wants to put my two children on her paperwork, but it would seem as if she is not my mother on paper.

Can you please advise me on what procedures we can take to have this corrected?

I have noted the contents of your letter and I recognise the necessity, in your children’s interests, for correcting the error which occurred when your birth was recorded.

You and your mother have two different surnames and since she wishes to add her grandchildren to her application for lawful residence in England, the difference in her surname on her birth certificate and that on yours will raise red flags which would be disastrous.

What can you do? You would need to have a DNA test done to prove that your mother is indeed your mother. You would also need to have two Statutory Declarations done by two elderly relatives who are older then your mother — that is to say, old enough to know the facts about what happened at the time of the reporting of your mother’s birth and at the time yours was reported. They must also be able to state how and why the errors occurred. Their ages must be stated in the declarations to establish that they certainly were old enough to know what happened at the time of the reporting of your mother’s birth for the registration of her birth.

If no such relatives are still alive, then close friends or neighbours who are old enough and know the facts as they occurred can do the Statutory Declarations, and they must include how they came to know the facts of what happened.

The different names must be clearly stated in the declarations and when it was that each came to be reported to the registrar at her birth and at yours. They must also declare in it that these are the same persons known as so-and-so and so- and-so. That is to say, the two names must be stated in full with the statement that your mother is one and the same person to their certain knowledge.

The DNA test report must be attached to one of the declarations, as well as copies of documents your mother has which show use of her registered name. These copies must be certified as true copies by a Justice of the Peace here or a Notary Public for her in the UK.

Of course, certified copies of her birth certificate and of yours must be attached to one of the declarations. The application and its supporting Statutory Declarations must be stamped at the Stamp Duty and Transfer Tax Section of the Tax Administration of Jamaica. You should then take them to the Registrar General’s Department, where they will be checked. You will be required to pay their fees for the process for the correction of the error to be effected.

The correction of your mother’s surname will be made on the margin of your birth certificate, then you and your mother can proceed from there.

So go to the Registrar General’s Department and explain your problem to them, taking with you certified copies of your mother’s and your own birth certificates. This will make you doubly sure and save you time, as you will have all the above explained to you in a clear and practical manner. Good luck.

Margarette May Macaulay is an attorney-at-law, Supreme Court mediator, notary public and women’s and children’s rights advocate. Send questions via e-mail to allwoman@jamaicaobserver. com; or write to All Woman, 40-42 1/2 Beechwood Avenue, Kingston 5.

DISCLAIMER:

The contents of this article are for informational purposes only and must not be relied upon as an alternative to legal advice from your own attorney.