Lawfully yours: By Retd Justice K Chandru

I remarried last year after losing my first husband in the first year of marriage in an accident. I have a girl child from my first marriage who is cared for by my present husband as his own child. The girl too has no memories of her real father. I wanted to use my current husband’s surname for her and use his name as her father in all her official records. Are there any legal issues involved? My in-laws from my first marriage may not take this kindly. Do I have to take their consent? Will they be able to drag me to court for doing this?

— Anuradha S, Madurai

There is no problem for you to give the name of your present husband as the surname for your child. The Supreme Court’s decision in ‘Akella Lalitha vs Konda Hanumantha Rao (28/7/22)’ has approved such a course of action and given it legal sanctity.

RWA can put strict conditions on matters of open parking by tenants

Our apartment complex constitutes 14 flats with covered parking available only for 12 owners. Those who do not have covered parking leave their vehicles in the narrow common corridor area thus restricting easy movement of everyone who makes use of it. Though the issue was taken up internally, there seems to be no solution coming as those without reserved parking slots are residing there on rent. Is it possible to get a legal solution to prevent such parking? And, whom should we approach?

— Kumar, T Nagar

Your Resident Welfare Association (RWA) can put strict conditions on the matter of open parking by some tenants. If they start charging rent from the owners of the flats who do not have parking facilities, this problem will get reduced