A Mom's Love

Feature Article

Access Name Change
by Walter L. Chesser

Very few people are aware of the vast under current of individuals having their names or the names of their child changed. One out of five families will consider the option of a legal name change, or about eight hundred thousand people per year will have their names changed. A legal name change is a civil (non-criminal) proceeding authorized under specific state laws which are filed and heard in a court in the county that you reside in. Upon the completion of the court proceedings a judge may grant a new name to the person (petitioner) requesting a change of name. Names are changed for numerous reasons. The most common are:

* marriage
* paternity issues
* discrepancies in official documents
* newly found family relationships
* divorce; and,
* to create new identities

There are also a number of requirements that must be meet by the petitioner before a change of name may be granted by the court. Those basic requirements are:

* residency - how long you have lived in the county and state
* age - minimum age for adults in most states is 18 years old
* fees - these will vary from state to state and often vary from county to county
* legal notices - may be required for the public, spouse, and/or child's parent

The process of changing your name or the name of a child can be done in as little as one day or take up to 90 days. However the typical period is about 60 days. The process will also cost you time and money. The national average cost for a legal name change prepared by an attorney is about $800.00. You can do it yourself for a lot less with online name change services such as Access Name Change Center .

Most name changes for adults and minors are a direct result of actions taken by mothers. There are decisions that you can make today that could help you or your child avoid a change of name at some future date. I offer the following recommendations based on the experience that Access Name Change Center has acquired in the past 7 years in preparing over 6,000 name changes for mothers.

Recommendation:

1. Think seriously before giving your minor child his natural father's surname, if the child is born out of wedlock. Most minor children feel isolated from the family unit when their last name is not the name of the other family members. We have helped literally thousands of the mothers change the surnames of their minor child from that of the natural father who has not been a part of the minor child's life.

2. Think seriously before giving your minor child his step-father's surname. Nearly one half of first time marriages end in divorce and "..there is a strong probability that second marriages will end in separation or divorce (23 percent after 5 years and 39 percent after 10 years). This means that your child could be stuck with a surname that has no family connection. We do many minor and adult surname changes for this very reason.

3. Always use the legal name change process to change your minor child's name. Despite the fact that it has not been uncommon for a mother to change the child's surname to her maiden name or to the step-father's surname on various documents without going through the legal name change process, continuing this practice after 911 is nearly impossible and certainly unadvisable. Prior to 911 many mothers were able to have school and Social Security Administration records document their child's name other than what appeared on the child's birth certificate. This practice of allowing names to appear on documents other than what appears on the birth certificate or by court order happens rarely today. Indeed most governmental agencies now require proof of identity with new or renewal applications. Many adults and teenagers are discovering that they are unable to apply or reapply for a drivers license because the name that they have been using is different than the name that appears on their birth certificate. Individuals attempting to leave the country for business or vacations are unable to do so, because of name discrepancies between various forms of identification prevent the issuance of a passport.

4. Write clearly and correctly the name of your newborn child on the live birth certificate application, and upon receipt of the birth certificate make sure that you carefully verify the information contained on the birth certificate.

By following these recommendations, members of your family are less likely to require name change services at some future date.

About the Author: Walter L. Chesser is the founder and CEO of Access Court Forms the parent company of Access Name Change Center. Walter has been actively involved since 1990, in distance education and the dissemination of digital information by computer technology. www.accessnamechange.com walter@accessnamechange.com

Access Name Change Center
PO BOX 18502
Milwaukee, WI 53218
414-578-2882