Giving the Child's Surname to the Mother

TO THE PRIMARY CIVIL COURT
OF ISTANBUL

DEFENDANT: Name and Surname - (Turkish Republic Identity Number: …) - Address

ATTORNEY: Lawyer's Name and Surname, Address

DEFENDANT: Name and Surname

SUBJECT: Request for correction of surname

EXPLANATIONS:

...In the final divorce decree issued by the Family Court, the custody of the joint child, ..., was given to my client, the plaintiff mother, and my client, the plaintiff, requests that the child, who is under her custody, be given her own surname, ..., instead of the surname of her divorced husband.

My client has been experiencing difficulties for years in both official and private institutions regarding their jointly owned child, due to the difference in surname between the child and their own. This difficulty is causing delays in their affairs. For these reasons, my client requests that the child's surname be changed to their own surname, thus facilitating easier processing of their transactions.

Indeed, the Supreme Court of Appeals allows this situation in many of its decisions, as follows:

The decision of the 2nd Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation, case number 2022/4794, decision number 2022/5670, dated June 13, 2022;

“…The case concerns the request to change the child's surname to the mother's surname. The first instance court ruled that "the granting of custody to the mother due to divorce is not considered a justifiable reason for changing the child's surname, nor does the legal framework approve of it. Even if it were accepted for a moment that the legislation allowed such a situation, if custody were subsequently granted to the father for the child's benefit, the father would then again seek to change the child's surname based on his custody rights.".

The court ruled to dismiss the case on the grounds that, "Since a child will bear the surname of whoever has custody, the father cannot be deprived of this right. It is clear that such a practice would undermine the reliability and stability of population records and, more importantly, would create very deep and effective trauma on the child's mental state. Judicial authorities should consider this situation and the best interests of the child and not allow parents or families to attempt to change their legally established status.".

Following the plaintiff's appeal against this decision, the regional court of appeal, which conducted the appeal review, decided to reject the appeal on its merits.

...Following the Constitutional Court's individual application decisions dated June 25, 2015, and numbered 2013/3434, November 11, 2015, and numbered 2013/9880, and July 20, 2017, and numbered 2014/1826, our Chamber also accepts that a mother who has been granted custody may request a change of her child's surname if there is a justifiable reason and the child's best interests require it.

In this specific case, the court's task is to consider the plaintiff mother's right to file this lawsuit in accordance with the above explanations, to evaluate the evidence in the file, and, if necessary, to obtain reports from court experts, and to make a decision that is in the best interest of the minor. It is deemed incorrect to dismiss the case based on erroneous and misleading assessments without considering the aforementioned points, and therefore, the decision must be overturned... "

My client, ..., who has custody of the joint child, ..., wishes to change the child's surname to ... in order to avoid further hardship due to the problems the child faces in daily life because of the child's surname being different from their own. For these reasons, it has become necessary to apply to your esteemed court for the correction of the population registry records.

EVIDENCE: Family registration certificate, file number …/…E…/…K. from …Family Court, witness testimonies, and all other legal evidence

LEGAL GROUNDS: Law No. 4721, Article 27; Law No. 5490, Articles 35, 36; Law No. 6100, Articles 382-388; and related legislation.

CONCLUSION AND REQUEST: For the reasons briefly explained above, I respectfully request and demand that the court decide to correct the surname of the joint child, born on …/…/…, who is under my client's custody, from “…” in the population registry to my client's surname, “…”. …/…/…

Plaintiff's
Attorney's Name and
Surname

(PREPARED BY: Intern Student Simay ŞİRİN)