In an interview with the Roca Family Judge, a 16-year-old boy justified his intention to change his last name. He argued that he has not had contact with his father for seven years and requested to use his mother’s last name, the same one he uses in his daily life, on social networks and even when he signs the drawings. of the. The ruling considered that there are “just reasons” and ordered the suppression of the paternal surname in all the young person’s documentation.
Facundo Barrio, official defender in the Bariloche Family jurisdiction, warned that in recent times, they have registered various surname modification procedures that are processed in the Family Courts.
«There has always been a demand for this type of procedure. The name change is provided for in the Civil and Commercial Code. Article 69 establishes that there must be just reasons to change the first and last name. It makes a list although it is not exhaustive and other options can be evaluated,” said the defender.
That article specifies three options: a person who started using a pseudonym that gained notoriety, reasons of cultural or religious roots and, reasons that affect the person’s psyche not feeling identified with her last name.
A change can also be requested in the Civil Registry for reasons of gender identity or in the case of a victim of illegal appropriation or forced disappearance.
Barrio specified that adults, children and adolescents can request the procedure. In the testing stage, edicts are published and the Civil Registry is asked to issue a ruling on the request. “In addition, some skills are required to rule out, for example, possible scams,” he warned.
He pointed out that the most common reason for requesting a change is that the person does not identify with their father’s surname.It may be that the father was an absent figure and carrying that last name generates psychological discomfort. There may be more serious facts such as complaints of sexual abuse. “That is also a more than reasonable reason to ask for a change,” she said.
He said that some time ago, he supported the request of a singer who had started using a pseudonym that ended up becoming famous and He chose to adopt that fantasy surname. The ruling was favorable and finally, the artist was able to register her artistic surname in the Civil Registry.
Barrio also referred to cultural reasons: «A person had a standard surname, but wanted to use a Mapuche surname from a distant relative. “We have to evaluate each case individually. We have received requests to use the mother’s surname because the father’s surname was well known in the criminal environment and the person was unable to find work.”
The deadlines to complete the process vary, but they estimate that it takes at least six months, although it never lasts more than a year.
Emotional discomfort
After serving a prison sentence for repeated acts of domestic violence, a man from Roca settled in a province in the north of the country and has not had contact with his son, now a teenager.
Some time ago, the young man requested a change of surname and the Family Procedural Unit 16 of Roca concluded that, in this case, it was proven that the paternal surname generates “a negative impact on personality.”
During the meeting with the judge, the young man recalled the mistreatment by her father, the years she has not had contact with him and her desire to formalize her mother’s last name.
A psychological report revealed that the teenager’s “feeling of family security” comes from his mother and that there are “elements of impact compatible with emotional distress associated with the paternal figure”.
“When a person, in constructing their history, chooses to use the surname that identifies them, without this causing harm or damage to third parties, what they are doing is simply making their constitutional right to exercise their freedom operative, without the State or private individuals being authorized to intervene,” the judge defined in the sentence.
The judge appreciated the teenager’s age and recognized his “progressive autonomy” to express himself and to have his opinion taken into account in a judicial process.
