QUESTION: Dear Legal Wiz,

My 96-yr-old mom is getting a piece of land as a deed of gift from her former employer. She never got married.

However on her birth certificate her date of birth is incorrect and her last name is absent. Her national id is showing a misspelling for her name, and incorrect birthdate.

The titles office told us that she needs to have her birth papers sorted out for filing.

It’s likely that she remembers her birthdate incorrectly, so checks have to be made. How can we correct the name?

RESPONSE: Dear Cassie,

You need to fill in a late entry form to get her surname added. Along with that form, you will need to submit a letter from her primary school confirming what she was registered there as.

In some instances, the school has been replaced or no longer exists. You will need to track down her school records and submit other supporting documents from persons who are older than her, or as close to her age as possible to submit letters which have been notarised or stamped by a Justice of the Peace in Jamaica.

Therefore please prepare the following as part of the application process for late entry of name

– Notarised Copy of the certificates of children which bear her proper name. 

– Any other id that she has with correct name such as TRN

– Affidavits need to be prepared by persons older than her and signed by a JP

– A letter from her primary school of attendance.. if it no longer exists a letter from the replacing school or parish council where records were kept

– Notarised letter from a former employer

– Notarised letter from her siblings and/or other relatives confirming her name

– Letters from institutions such as insurance, place of employment which shows her correct name

NB:

Your mom’s national id (WHICH needs to be corrected) cannot be used as it bears her wrong name and date of birth. The corrected birth certificate is needed to correct this id

Legal Wiz