Name Change Lawsuit And Conditions
How to Change Your Name? Is it Necessary to File a Lawsuit to Change Your Name?
According to Article 27 of the Turkish Civil Code No. 4721, a name change can only be obtained through legal proceedings. However, the Law Amending the Population Services Law and Certain Other Laws, published in the Official Gazette No. 30229 on November 3, 2017, has introduced a new option for name and surname changes.
As a result of this regulation, individuals may apply to the district population offices in their place of residence within two years from the date the law enters into force to change surnames that violate Article 3 of the Surname Law No. 2525 or names with spelling or grammatical errors. The change is made on a one-time basis.
This law only allows for the correction of names and surnames that are contrary to the law. As a result, it should be noted that individuals who wish to change their names for a valid reason are still required to file a lawsuit in order to do so.
Therefore, applying to the population office is not sufficient for name change procedures. The amendment made in 2017 only allows individuals whose names were incorrectly registered in the population registry to correct their names. In this context, names can be changed by filing a lawsuit if there is a valid reason.
Competent and Responsible Court for Name Change Lawsuits
Name change lawsuits are filed at the Civil Court of First Instance in the place of residence of the plaintiff, i.e., the person who wants to change their name.
Valid Reasons for Changing Names:
The following are examples of valid reasons for changing a name:
-The name is ridiculous, subject to ridicule, ugly, bad, or immoral.
-The name is unsuitable or difficult to pronounce.
-The same name is used by more than one person, causing confusion.
– Change of religion or citizenship,
– Change of gender,
– The person being known or called by another name in their family or social circle,
– The name hindering the person’s social life or commercial activities,
– A family member of the person bearing the name committing a serious crime or having a bad reputation,
-If the name is prohibited,
These reasons can be cited as examples of valid reasons. However, valid reasons are not limited to these examples. Each case must be evaluated individually.
A name change does not affect the person’s legal ties with their family. In other words, the person’s family ties are not severed, and they can still be an heir.
How Does the Process Work After a Name Change Lawsuit?
Name change lawsuits are generally decided quickly. After the decision is made, the relevant court decision is served to the parties. After the parties receive the decision, they can appeal within 15 days. If no appeal is made within 15 days, the decision becomes final. The final decision is sent to the Press Announcement Authority for publication. The publication and submission of the announcement newspaper to the court takes an average of 10-15 days. After this stage, the court sends the decision to the relevant population registry office, and the person can obtain a new identity card from the population registry office.
The individual may pursue the name change case themselves or with the assistance of a lawyer. However, since such cases require legal knowledge and experience, the legal processes involved in preparing the petition, filing the case, and finalizing the decision may pose some difficulties for the individual. Therefore, it is advisable to work with a lawyer to avoid any loss of rights.