Last name question

niki-pooh · #1 02-25-2003, 01:01 PM

Hi. I'm a national from Dominican Rep and married to a swede and i have a que about last name changes. I'd like to take his last name or to hyphenate mine adding his. The thing is that here (D.R.) a married woman takes the husband name after hers followed by 'de', for ex: if Lisa Woo got married to John Doe, according to the dominican laws she'd become Lisa Woo de Doe. I'd like to know if taking his last name would be legal here when i register the change in my cedula or driver's license, or how can i handle having a legal name here and another legal name there. Also about the children names, cuz according to their laws, a children with 2 last names mean their parents aren't married (unlike here).

Pib · #2 02-25-2003, 01:36 PM

I am not a lawyer, but from what I've heard you can only use your husband's name for social purposes, not for legal purposes. You'll still keep your own surname unless you go thru a legal name change. Something I've heard lawyers say is long, complicated and expensive.

YMMV

niki-pooh · #3 02-25-2003, 02:14 PM

what do u mean with 'you can only use your husband's name for social purposes, not for legal purposes'?

Hillbilly · #4 02-25-2003, 06:19 PM

She means that you can say at a party that you are Niki Johansen. But anything legal must be Niki Perez de Johansen

Your children are Johansen Perez here and just Johansen there, unless you go to the states where they get confused and then they will be Perez, until you straighten them out....

HB

niki-pooh · #5 02-25-2003, 06:54 PM

oh i see. so then there's basically no problem with the name thing? i can be niki johansen according to the swedish laws and niki perez de johansen according to our laws?

won't this bring me any problems when i register my children here or there?

thx a lot. to me this is confusing and i'm moving to sweden soon.

Ken · #6 02-25-2003, 08:28 PM

Since you will soon move to Sweden, why not ask a friend or member of your husband's family to check with someone there to see how you should call yourself in Sweden. Personally, I wouldn't worry about the "de" thing outside of the DR.

Jerry · #7 02-25-2003, 10:53 PM

A friend of mine married a Dominican lady here in the States. She went back to the DR for a bit and while there had a baby. I know he had to get the marriage certificate notorized by Dominican Consulate since it took place here in the States. But her passport and cedula has only his last name. Their baby also has only his last name. So what did she do exactly, I do not know but it can be done.

My wife and I have not decided yet what to do as far as changing her last name as far as the DR goes. Here she will use my last name and her stateside IDs will show this name. We will decide about her cedula later.

So it can be done. Maybe someday I will figure out how.

Jerry

niki-pooh · #8 02-26-2003, 07:28 AM

ok. thx very much.

the tradition there in sweden is the woman takes the husband's name. children have just 1 last name, meaning the parents are married. children with 2 last names mean the parents aren't married.

Pib · #9 02-26-2003, 08:01 AM

I don't follow you. Are you asking about the situation in the Dominican Rep. or Sweden? Because if it is the latter then we can't help much.

niki-pooh · #10 02-26-2003, 08:05 AM

sorry pib. i was telling the tradition about last names in sweden, since an above poster suggested me to find out.

what i'd like to know is if here i won't have any problems with my documents and registering my children if i change my last name and follow the swedish traditions. sorry if i confused u.