Family and Friends Forum

Hello Dreaming, sorry to see you have had to join this club. I seem to be pushing solicitors today in some of my replies but our very useless solicitor did tell us after the plea hearing that my husband could have changed his name and created a temporary address, it was too late for us as I say chocolate teapot comes to mind with our solicitor but it would be worth discussing with your own.

Hope this helps

katie xxx

My oh was told not to change his name as it made him look more guilty.



I just dread the media announcing to the world our address and making us targets.



Would it be possible to change your name and stay in a hotel the week before court and have them use that name and address ?

Or would it be Mr Smith formally known as anc formally of Smith Street which would make the changes a waste of time

Hi Dreaming - in our early days this was something I wanted our son to do, thinking that it might protect his children and, if I'm honest, us as well although we live far away from where he was arrested. He lives with us now and I wasn't sure how the media works re sharing stories so just living in another area might not make him safe from our local media.

In the chaos of our early days it got lost but I was thinking about it again this week. From all that I researched back then it definitely shouldn't add to guilt in the eyes of the court (that is, if your son's plea is guilty anyway) as his solicitor can make the point that it's to protect others - although of course if it hits the media then people will make any conclusions they want if it's disclosed there. Apparently changing a name is dodgy in other countries where an offender can move and reinvent him/herself and then carry on offending, but this country is so very tight on offender's lives after sentencing, (SOR, reporting to police about almost everything they do outside their restrictions etc) that it's well nigh impossible for a name change to make more offending easier and the public therefore at risk.

As for actually doing it, it's not as tricky as it might sound - the comedian Joe Lycett changes his name regularly to make political statements and then changes it back again. You don't say how old your son is but really the only things that seem to be an inconvenience are bank accounts and passports. As you have to state any other names you've used on official forms it can't help evade future disclosure about your son's offences eg DBS checks, but for the sole purpose of helping keep his family safe at the time of court hearings then it seems a sensible thing to do. I hope someone who's done it successfully will see your post and reply - I'll be following with interest too.

We changed my husbands name via our solicitor to make it formal and ensure the police paid attention. It was quick and easy and not too expensive. We did this before charges, to try to ensure the old name never got read out anywhere. This worked very effectively for us.

This gave us peace of mind for if it hit the media and also gave us some security of if it did get in the media, whichever name was published he could apply for jobs in the other name (as it's equally easy and quick to change it back).

It also protected me and our son.

My husband has changed it back a week after final sentencing. It would only come up now on an enhanced DBS which he will never apply for again!!

Something to note is that it doesn't always work, if the media are really intent on publishing they could find out the old name.

In terms of photos being published, now is the time to delete all traces of him from the internet and social media. When walking into court wear a hat and sunglasses and a COVID mask. They're not allowed to take your picture from inside the court itself, so unless the police have taken and released a mug shot, a recognisable photo shouldn't appear if you do this