You cannot stop your ex-wife from using your name after divorce

A High Court Judge, Justice Alexander Osei Tutu, has stated that a man cannot prevent his former spouse from using his last name.

The Judge, made this assertion on JoyNews' The Law, stating that no one owns a name as per the tenets of the constitution and therefore it is allowed to use any name one pleases.

“Under the law, nobody has the right to a name so when the woman married she adopted the husband's name, and the marriage is dissolved. The man has no right to tell the woman to change to her previous name," he told the host, as they discussed the topic of evolving legal issues.

To make this assertion clearer, Justice Alexander Osei Tutu referred to a case in England where a royal took his ex-wife to court for using his name on grounds that she was taking undue advantage.

The court then held that “Nobody has a right to a name. So even after divorce, my listeners should know that one person can not ask the other to change his or her name,” he added.

SS/ ADG