Separation can bring with it a range of emotions. The dispute
between separating parents can be far reaching, including whether
the child's surname should be retained or changed.
A dispute in relation to a child's name can range from
hyphenating the child's name. For example; if the mother no
longer wishes to be associated with her married surname,
particularly in circumstances involving domestic violence.
It may be requested by a father, who isn't named on the
birth certificate, and wishes for the child to adopt his
surname.
It's also a common request for a parent where the other
parent isn't a prevalent caregiver in the child's life.
It may be a request in circumstances where half siblings have
different surnames and there's a wish to homogenise to a
surname used by the other household members.
