Am I entitled to use a "family" coat of arms?
No. Coats of arms belong to individuals, not families. There is
no such thing as a coat of arms for a surname. Many people of the
same surname will be entitled to completely different coats of arms,
and more of that surname will be entitled to no coat of arms.
For any person to have a right to a coat of arms they must either
have had it granted to them or be descended in the legitimate male
line from a person to whom arms were granted or confirmed in the
past.
In countries that have an heraldic authority - such as the College
of Arms in England or the Lord Lyon in Scotland - you can apply
for a coat of arms or ask to have arms confirmed.
In other countries you can make up anything you like - but you
might be well advised to find a club or society that runs a voluntary
system of registration. They will advise on design and warn about
duplicating existing arms.
Simply adopting someone else';s arms is the height of boorish bad
taste - and guaranteed to impress people for the wrong reasons.
(If you are of Scottish descent you might be entitled to use your
clan badge associated with your name - but not your clan chief's
arms)
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