About Coram Family Lives#
Coram Family Lives began more than fifty years ago as a volunteer effort to make sure parents had somewhere to turn before reaching crisis point. Its roots are in Parentline, which merged with two other family charities in 1999 to become Parentline Plus, and later Family Lives. It is now part of the Coram group, and the old familylives.org.uk address leads to its new site. It offers support on any parenting or family issue, with in-person services in several places in England and Wales.
Ways to reach it#
The contact page lists a helpline, an email support address, live chat on weekdays from 10.30am to 9pm, and WhatsApp messaging, all answered by family support workers and trained volunteers. There are online forums where parents share how they coped, and free self-guided online parenting courses.
What its guide says about changing a child's name#
The guide "Changing a child's name" is written for parents after a divorce or separation, and it starts with whether to do it at all. A matching surname can help a child feel part of the family raising them, it says, but can also cut a link to the other parent, and family togetherness does not depend on a shared name. It suggests thinking about everyone's feelings, the child's best interests and wishes, and whether the child might resent the change later.
On the law it says:
- you cannot simply change a child's name when you divorce, remarry or start a new relationship; for a child under 16 an application is normally successful only with written consent from everyone with parental responsibility;
- if someone with parental responsibility refuses, you can ask the court for a specific issue order;
- an absent parent who still has parental responsibility would normally need to consent, though a change may still be possible if you can show you do not know where they are and have tried to make contact;
- a father without parental responsibility should still be asked, as an interested party, and can go to court;
- a parent and step-parent cannot change the name on their own.
It explains the two kinds of deed poll: unenrolled, through a solicitor or a deed poll agency, and enrolled, through the Royal Courts of Justice, which makes the change public in The Gazette. Government bodies such as HM Passport Office and DVLA accept both, it says, while some organisations, like some banks, accept only an enrolled one. It adds that young people aged 16 or over can make their own unenrolled deed poll with two adult witnesses, best not close relatives or people at the same address, using GOV.UK's template.
What enrolling a child's deed poll involves today#
The guide leaves fees to a solicitor. GOV.UK lists enrolment of a child's deed poll at £53.05, with forms LOC022, LOC023, LOC024 and LOC028, and says a 16 or 17 year old must include a signed letter agreeing to the change. If the child's details should not be published, a parent can explain why, and the judge may agree to publish only the first name or surname.
More for separated families#
- Changing a child's name after divorce or separation: consent, the court and the passport.
- Changing a stepchild's surname: what a step-parent can and cannot do.
- Giving a child a double-barrelled surname: the option courts often prefer.
- Unenrolled and enrolled deed polls: the choice the guide describes.
This page describes what Coram Family Lives publishes on its own website, read on 26 October 2026. Coram Family Lives has not reviewed it, and listing a charity here does not mean it recommends this handbook or any deed poll service.
