“Try and fail, but don't fail to try.”

“Try and fail, but don't fail to try.”   Stephen Kaggwa

So I was right to feel cautiously optimistic and it was not as easy as it seemed. I thought it was too good to be true.

 

We finally heard back from home affairs exactly 7 months after applying for our name changes

A letter came yesterday and boys were all excited and opened it themselves.... but istead of it telling them their new Birth Certificates are ready it said, their surname change applications STILL need:
 

1) Divorce/Death certificates of mother/father (this I can do - I did submit divorce info already and can redo it)

AND

2) Consent from the biological father (we have no idea where he is and have no contact with him,  so this not possible.... ) OR
A High Court order permitting it.  (This will cost about R50k)



Fluck man! Now what do we do???
- Just leave it legally and use the names unofficially as we have been? We will have to remember to use official names as required, and then do the official applications when they are no longer minors, or
- Keep trying?

I am so bummed. The boys have loved having the new names and everyone has been so settled and cool since we have been 'emancipated'... I spoke to G this morning and asked how he feels about it and if he wants me to keep trying, and if so, how important it is to him and he says he really likes the new name and wants to keep it rather.

It's such a pain.

Anyway hopefully some kind of plan will come up, but actually getting him to sign is going to be nigh impossible, and not because he'll fight it (I don't think) but just because we can't get hold of him (at all, no one knows where he is anymore) or get him to cooperate wrt to ANYTHING.

 

Oh and I haven't told you the latest hey? ... got a legal letter the other day complaining about my abandoned vehicle! Car has been left in some Mowbray flat's parking lot and has not moved for months. When they traced the registration it comes back to - you guessed it - ME!

I followed up with licensing department and it turns out that while it is true that I did process the sale 'pink slip' to transfer it into his name he never did his side- road worthy certificate etc, so the it never changed ownership officially in the system. So now although I actually don't legally own it anymore in the traffic department system it is still linked to my name as the last legal owner. Oi vey!! 

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger! (and fatter..)

Bugger!