rosinacarley said:
...my birth certificate gives my birth mother's name. My adoption certificate, the one that I had until I decided to find my birth parents, only shows the names of my adoptive parents. Unless they had decided to trace their birth parents and had s51 counselling they would not have been allowed their birth certificates.
Spot on Rosina.
Quite often at AFCO's, when someone is adopted, they only see the adoption Birth Certificate (not the adoption certificate) which, although it has a later issue date, states the individuals adoptive surname, as though there was no prior name. The copy certificate (the small version) doesn't name the natural parents.
The other weird one is that often, if a childs' parents separate & Mum maintains custody, she reverts to her maiden name. If Dads' name is on the child (childrens') original Birth Certificate the the Fathers' signature MUST be on the Change of Name Deed Poll if the child is under 18 & he is still alive. No Fathers' signature on a Deed poll, then the childs' legal name is that initially registered unless (very rare) the Mother has sole legal custody as ordered by the court & has a certificate of proof.
I've lost count the amount of youngsters who join-up only to discover that their legal surname is not what they think it is. They have to sign-on under their LEGAL name, no matter what.
Another tip, for those that don't already know: if your Birth certificate has a time entered next to the date of birth, it means you are one of a multiple birth.