California AB 1121 second phase for easier name/gender change ~ in effect yet?

[Kristina77]

Thanks Kristina I'm a feminist so I have my own set of political theories on why women are treated the way we are. A meetup would be pretty cool I need to meet more women like me. Good luck at the courthouse! Be sure to post your experience so you can let someone in the OC know what it's like.

Same here I'm quite the feminist myself  Our type is definately villified a lot these days sadly.  Already posted my response but advice to anyone going in Orange County.  Go early, have a full copy of the law printed out, have photocopies, and a will of steel Hope everyone has better luck than I did.  Just frustrating since it's their jobs to know the law (especially the supervisors).

[riotgrrrl]

Awesome I am yet to talk to another trans woman who is feminist besides you! Rad Fems are causing all feminists and Feminism in general to be villified. But hey that has been going on since the movement first started and gained media attention. I am so sorry your experience was so horrible, I am shocked that even  the supervisor didn't know or didn't want to know what they were doing. They didn't even ask for photo copies from me, I am so lucky to have gotten a court date in August. Every time I see anything Harvest and NOTW related I roll my eyes and laugh. I'm glad you didn't give up fighting either and weren't directly misgendered. I am glad you are going to contact Transgender Law Center, what we are experiencing is beyond being uneducated about laws it is DISCRIMINATION.  We have a right to legal services without having to jump through hoops, especially when a law was passed to help make that easier. I  hope everything else goes smoothly for you. P.S. even with all the sheeple in the OC I would never pass up an oppurtunity to live there because I love the beach so much.

[Kristina77]

Same here I'm really happy to meet you! I think that's what bothered me the most though... the fact even the supervisor didn't WANT to know what the law was or what I had to say.  You're totally right; a clerk can be excused for not having the correct information but the fact that even a supervisor didn't is ridiculous as it's their job to know the law... or at least read their own forms.

Not much a beach girl myself, my parents took me like everyday as a kid so I burnt out on that pretty fast.  The OC is a beautiful area though and very richly multi-cultural, just wish it didn't have such a strong conservative christian presence, but oh well everything can't be perfect.

[Eva Marie]

So i took a look at the forms today and I found them confusing and unclear.

As an example - at the top of form NC-200 there is an area that says "ATTORNEY OR PARTY WITHOUT AN ATTORNEY" which would pretty much include everyone. In that same boxed in area there are spots to enter a state bar number, a firm name, and other lawyer looking stuff - what the heck is supposed to go there if you are filing your own paperwork? Am i even supposed to fill that area out?

The form CM-010 was totally confusing. I have no idea how to fill that one out.

Does anyone know how to fill these forms out?

[Kristina77]

Sure I do, the attorney or party is where you just put your current legal name & address info (I think they ask for email too).  Are you using the fillable forms? That makes it a lot easier.  Here's guide to filling out the cover sheet: http://transgenderlawcenter.org/issues/id/id-change

Specific to the cover sheet CW-010

Directions for completing the Civil Case Cover Sheet:

Just check:
Unlimited in the box on the top left
Question #1 "Other petition" (it's the last option in the bottom right corner)
Question #2 "is not"
Question #3 b. nonmonetary
Question #4 1 cause of action
Question #5 "is not"


Make sure when you file you go to the courthouse / area of the courthouse where you would file civil suits.  If you havea ny other questions please let me know

[riotgrrrl]

Never mind about my last post luckily my parents are going half and half on my court fee I am so glad it's only $23 for the gender part! I am just going to pay the fee instead of appealing to the court to try and get my fees waived again.

[Eva Marie]

Sure I do, the attorney or party is where you just put your current legal name & address info (I think they ask for email too).  Are you using the fillable forms? That makes it a lot easier.  Here's guide to filling out the cover sheet: http://transgenderlawcenter.org/issues/id/id-change

Specific to the cover sheet CW-010

Directions for completing the Civil Case Cover Sheet:

Just check:
Unlimited in the box on the top left
Question #1 "Other petition" (it's the last option in the bottom right corner)
Question #2 "is not"
Question #3 b. nonmonetary
Question #4 1 cause of action
Question #5 "is not"


Make sure when you file you go to the courthouse / area of the courthouse where you would file civil suits.  If you havea ny other questions please let me know

Thanks Kristina77! That helps a lot!

[Khalysta]

I filed today in san diego.  There was some confusion and I had to point out the skip the newspaper part with a copy of the AB 1121.  The clerk was kind of aware of it saying there was an email about it but other older documents conflicted.  She confirmed it all with her supervisor though and things went smoothly from there.

It was definitely a good tip to bring the copy of AB 1121!  That helps when you can highlight the section in advance and point it out.  I was braced for the worst but I'm glad it went relatively smoothly.   I was in and out of there in about 30 minutes.  Unfortunately, the earliest court date was 9/5 since I was hoping to get it done before the next semester of grad school but oh well I can survive another month.

Thanks for all the tips!

[riotgrrrl]

Yay I'm so glad you had a great expirence Im sorry you have to wait so long. I am so lucky my court date is August 11 and my school starts August 15 and it will only take a few buisness days to mail my court order so when I register for school I can put my new name and not have to worry about being outed by my name on the school computer!

[Kristina77]

Quick update!! Got my fee waived X3 so I think I"m all good!! Court date isn't until Sept. 16th though  And with me being really iffy at my job right now I'd love to have it sooner but w/e everday gets closer!! So excited!!

[riotgrrrl]

Yay I'm so glad you got the fee waived! I got denied because my parents make $1000 over the limit and they base the waiver off of household income. I was going to pay $200 all the money I have and they were going to pay the rest. Even though they make $1000 over they still don't have enough at the end of the month to pay the court fee. Its strange because on the letter I received saying my request was denied It said I made too much but I have no income and $200 to my name. I'm 18 so I live with my parents and am starting my senior year. Now I'm waiting on the letter for my court date so I can plead my case with the judge. I'm sorry your court date is so far away. I'm so glad I will probably be able to have my court ordered name change for my school before I go back. Just a FYI to everyone filing the form to change your gender is kind of expensive even with the new law in effect. Its $23 to send in the form plus you have to get your sworn statement notarized and that can be $10- $30 from what I have researched. If you don't have your sworn statement notarized you have to include a certified copy of a court order. You also have to pay for postage for a large letter envelope. Then you have to get a certified copy of your court order name change if you have one which is $25. Finally you have to send in $23 to request a new birth certificate. So it's going to be a minimum of $80-$100. Hey that's a lot cheaper than having to undergo SRS to get your gender marker changed. Especially if you don't have insurance to cover it or getting a $425 court ordered gender change unless you get a fee waiver. Once I get my SRS next year through my insurance I'm going to actually get a court ordered gender change. Since I will already have my birth certificate changed from this year I just want to be able to have my gender recognized in all of the states.

[Kristina77]

Ah, that sucks  I'm in my late 20's and though I do make far over the limit I wrote down my income & all expenses on the form in detail and the Judge granted it! I honestly wasn't expecting it but he did    Getting the notarized dr's note is gonna be a pain in the butt though.  I really, really wish AB1121 let us change our gender AND name going through the birth certificate... But it's that whole attitude of 'that's too easy, what if u were trying to evade the cops' etc -_-;;; as if they wouldn't have access to those records lol @_@ (i've had a few family members express worry that it's 'too easy' to change our genders/names).  Good luck to you though!! Things r looking up for us!

[Autumn]

Just filed my paperwork for a name change in San Bernardino. They were misinformed about AB 1121. The clerks said that I had to file an ad with the newspaper, then I informed them of the changes. Thankfully one of the other clerks knew what I was talking about. Overall, it went pretty smooth, except for that hiccup. Got my date next month!

[riotgrrrl]

Yay I'm so happy for you Autumn. I'm glad things worked out. I got a letter granting a hearing about my fee waiver in the mail today. Hopefully I can get my fees waived!

[Autumn]

Yay I'm so happy for you Autumn. I'm glad things worked out. I got a letter granting a hearing about my fee waiver in the mail today. Hopefully I can get my fees waived!

Thank you! Good luck with your fee waiver 

[Eva Marie]

I filed my name change in Ventura county today. After obsessing over the forms for about two weeks (thanks for the help Kristina77! ) payday finally arrived so I took my papers and my $435 to Ventura. This is a very large courthouse and I had trouble finding the right place to file the paperwork so I had to ask someone in the lobby where I needed to go. I went up to the right place and waited and waited in a line that was NOT moving (kind of like at the DMV) and finally it was my turn. The girl that handled my paperwork was extremely detail oriented and after a while watching her shuffle paperwork and refer to her documentation I began to get worried, but she eventually reached for some stamps and started stamping paperwork.  She later told me that they had "new procedures" to follow (because of AB 1121?) and she was trying to make sure everything was done correctly. She didn't ask me to file the name change with the newspaper so apparently they have the memo about AB 1121 now.

My court date is Sep 15th so the courts in Ventura county aren't badly backed up. I have a friend that waited 7 months to get her name change done in LA county!!

I have 6 more weeks of my old life left before Eva becomes official. It all seems very, very surreal tonight to think that in 6 weeks I'll be carrying a purse to work.

[riotgrrrl]

Eva, I'm so glad the clerk was up to date on the law and you got a court date within a reasonable amount of time. I can't even picture you as a "man", you look amazing in your profile pic. Your haircut and color has me jealous! I am so glad this will allow you be your authentic self at work. Congrats! I know I'm looking forward to my last year of school without the anxiety and fear of having my male name called. Especially since that outed me to class mates and staff when they would never know my trans status otherwise .

[Dee Marshall]

Every time I read this thread I'm so happy that my name is gender neutral and I intend to keep it. New York is progressive, but not as progressive as California.

[Lauren5]

So I just got my legal name change done in Michigan today, time to get the new California birth certificate.
I'm supposed to fill out VS24 and have my doctor fill out NC2/310, right? Well, here's what VS24 says, and it's quite upsetting, as I thought California made you a new birth certificate.

But here's what the court order from Michigan says:

So which is it? I don't want my original birth certificate to still be accessible.

[tgchar21]

Lauren, those particular instructions for California are for general-reason name changes - in most cases they only add an amendment noting the changes. They have a different policy and form for those changing their name for transgender reasons - and there a new certificate is issued and they seal the old one. CA will do that whether or not the court order specifies any changes to be made, but for others reading this bear in mind that states are not bound to recognize an order like the one in Lauren's case from a different state (for the MI forms that's for anyone that was also born in that state or another state that requires the court order to specify a new BC be issued).