Change of name rejected: Mother gives mother the first place!

The Göttingen Administrative Court decided that a 24-year-old must not change his last name in order to accept his father's last name. The applicant founded his wish with a difficult relationship with his mother and the fact that he has lived with his father since 2013. The city of Göttingen had previously rejected the application because it saw no important reason for the name change. This decision has now been confirmed by the administrative court.

In its reasoning, the court found that the lack of contact with the mother and a lack of identification with her last name was not sufficient to justify a change of name. Only a significant mental burden could justify a name change, but one was not recognizable. The 24-year-old had not mentioned a mental burden in his application, and the statement of a specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy also provided sufficient evidence of such a burden.

Details of a different legal case

In a separate but related case, a change of name was reported, which was justified by mental stress as a result of teasing. Here there was a lawsuit that was considered admissible and justified. The defendant's decision was illegal, and the plaintiff was entitled to a name change, based on the legal foundations of the name change law.

The crucial point in this case was that the problems caused by teasing were not in need of treating. The applicant's parents gave experience of teasing because of the name of her daughter, including play games and requests for dancing. These factors led to the fear that the teasing could increase with age. The public perception of the name led to an assessment of the public interest that was low when the name was changed.

Overall, the decision was made in favor of the interests of the plaintiff, and the defendant's decision was canceled, so that the defendant had to bear the costs of the procedure, such as Openjur reported.

to the case of the 24-year-old, who was not allowed to change his last name, reported ndr that the evidence was not sufficient for a change of name.