Susan's Place Transgender Resources

I was wondering the other day if it is posible if I could go and get my legal papers for my name changes and when they come in if I could just hold onto them or do I have to immediately put them into action?

I realize that I would like to follow the set rules of the HBSOC, and I haven't yet started RLT, which I know that usually the name change follows afterward.

Gina

Gina,

As far as filing goes you can fill out the paper work anytime. Once you file them you have to pay the fee. Until you file them no action occurs. The forms could change during the time you hold on to them so that is something you would have to check.

Once filed the judge will usually grant the name change within thirty days. Once this is done you must change your name with all offical agencies and I do believe there is a time limit on that. If you continue to use  your old name after the time frame on such things as drivers license SS cards passports etc. you could potentially run afoul of the law. Be very very careful in this area.

I should note here that you do not have to do a name change in order to do the RLT but it helps. You can go by any name you like as long as you do not use it in a legal venue. If you want a passport that doesn't lead to unwanted questions a name change would make things a little easier. Also it is not a matter of rather you would like to follow the SOC, it is required.

Hope that helps,

Cassie

I do not understand Gina, if you arn't intending to file the papers yet, what is the good of filling them out?  That can be done in minutes at the time you do wish to file them.  As to HBSOC, it doesn't matter when you legally change your name, or even if you do, that is strictly up to you, though some therapysts may not consider your commitment until you do and thus recommend for surgery, I wouldn't worry about most though as long as you meet eligibility and readiness requirements.

If you mean to just obtain them so you have them when you need them, nothing wrong with that at all, providing of course they are current at the time of filing.

Terri

Yeah Cassie, I realize about the fee that has to be paid. So it is imperative that I change my name after the Judge has granted it. Don't want to get into any other legal messes.  :(

I realize that I do not have to change my name when I go into the RLT stage, but just due to circumstances, I'd prefer to have everything legalized.

The reason I was thinking of filing the paper now Terri is so that if I were to go into the RLT stage next year I could just pull out the name change papers and change my name and proceed. But I think that my RLT time is coming up a little sooner than expected. :)

Yesterday I was looking on the Internet and I found this one place that is not a law firm that does handle names changes and they can get it done in no time with no hassle. Has anyone ever used or heard of Legal Zoom?

Gina

I've heard of ZNet, but not Legal Zoom don't know much about them. ZNet offers the paperwork and you just fill in the blanks and file at the courthouse. They don't do anything for you. I'd research them a bit before using though. See if they've been flamed. Check into customer satisfaction, not just the blurbs they put in their ads, etc. There are many attorny's who can do this sort of thing just as inexpensively as the online if you shop around.

There are some legal aid offices that can handle it for you. I don't know how much it is were you are, but were I am it's just a matter of filling out the papers dropping them off at the clerk of the courts office and paying your $60 filing fee. After that you just wait for the papers to arrive in the mail. Usually 30 days depending on the court.

Thanks for your reply Cassandra. I will definately keep an open mind about these other places, and I will shop around.  :)

Gina

Hi,

Gee, $60 filing fees, I wish they were that low in California.  It cost $350 to file here in Southern California, then another $60 to put a notice in the newspaper for 6 weeks, then $15 per copy of the final papers (they recommend you get several copies).

I do paralegal work for two lawyers, so I have all the forms on my computer (just for the local counties).

Sarah

Here in Ontario it cost's $130.00 Cdn, for the name change and certificate, and then all the other name change documents are free, drivers license, healthcard SSN etc...

Steph

At least you didn't have to get a Canadian Citizenship card changed Steph. $75 and they just told me it would take 5-7 months, during which time I can't leave the country. So much for Christmas in Mexico. Grr.

Dennis

Makes it pretty difficult to do the minimum 1 year RLT without supporting documents.

Without changing everything it is easy to bail out out a week or two when the going gets tough.

Then again, isn't that is what the RLT is for?

Quote from: Dennis on September 14, 2005, 10:54:59 PM
At least you didn't have to get a Canadian Citizenship card changed Steph. $75 and they just told me it would take 5-7 months, during which time I can't leave the country. So much for Christmas in Mexico. Grr.

Dennis

Hmmmmm...  I didn't think of that one.  We are planning on getting our passports renewed very shortly so I imagin that I will have to get my Canadian Citizenship Certificate changed as well.  Four to six months huh, I had better get moving.

As to what Leigh and Kimberly mentioned, it's almost a catch 22.  To properly be on RLT some would say or demand that should have your name changed, however, if during RLT you discover you have made a big mistake, then you are left with changing your name again.

Chat later

Steph.

Easier to change your name again then your sex, don't you think?

BTW: The expensive name change in California is what you get from a legal system that can be changed willy nilly by letting everyone vote on it. That just breeds chaos. In my State the laws are simple because only the legislature can change the laws and they are slow and reluctant to do so.

Cassie

QuoteEasier to change your name again then your sex, don't you think?

Not only do I think it's easier to change your name than your sex, I know it's easier, that's the whole purpose of the RLT don't you think?.  I was simply commenting on the issue that Leigh and Kimberly had writen in their posts, and how it would seem like a catch 22 depending on how you looked at it.

Steph. 

QuoteI know it's easier, that's the whole purpose of the RLT don't you think?.

Absolutely Steph!  ;D

What does the R mean in RLT?  Without changing ID there is nothing real about it.

Without having to live with the reality of showing ID for a job, insurance, credit cards, housing, yada yada yada, there is no transition taking place.  There is only the presentation of being female.  No living as one 24/7/365 for better or worse.

The going gets tough why just whip it out (male ID) and duck the issue once again, and again and again.

I make no apologies for thinking that unless a person fully transitions and does honest RLT its just a game.

Leigh

No need to apologise Leigh. I agree the name change is an essential part of RLT. I would be among those who think it should be a mandatory part of the process. If someone cannot do that then what is it exactly they think they are doing?

Cassie

Quoteits just a game

<<<< its just a game.>>>>>

Pop goes the weasel?

Dress up might be more apt. ;)

IMO, anybody who claims to be a transsexual and doesn't get their name changed at the earliest possible moment obviously needs to re-think the whole transition thing.  Of course, I suppose that's why a name change should be a requirement for the RLT.  And yes, like in Gina's situation, I understand that sometimes you can really want the name change but can't get it yet, like if you're not out to your boss yet.  But I don't think the RLT should start until you change it.

I changed my name in Alabama.  It was $57 dollars, and literally took five minutes.  I walked into the Probate Court Clerk's office, handed the secretary my Driver's License, told her what I wanted and my new name, she filled in the blanks on the name change petition on her computer, I signed a couple of times, and I was done.  I immediately went next door and changed my driver's license, then next door to change my car title & registration.  And everybody in the Courthouse was very nice to me.

My name has been changed almost everywhere.  In fact, as i just came out at work on Wednesday, my boss just gave me my first check in my new name last night.  The only thing I'm waiting for is one credit card company and my passport.  The credit card company is taking their dear sweet time changing my name.  They've had the documents for over a month now, and they told me it will probably be another month before it gets changed.  I think I'm going to close the accounts before they change it, just to make a point.  Every other credit card took only a week from the time the got the documents.

Oh, and a warning about legal offices who do name changes.  I found one who said they could do mine.  They said it was $157, and they made it seem like they were doing all this work.  I'm glad I researched it first, and found out how easy it was.  Basically they wanted $100 for the five minutes I spent at the courthouse.  Of course, it's not so easy in every state.

Amy

I'd definitely close out that credit card Amy. If they take this long with the name, how long are they going to take on a real problem like somebody stealing your card?

Cassie

Quote from: AmyNYC on September 25, 2005, 12:20:16 PM
IMO, anybody who claims to be a transsexual and doesn't get their name changed at the earliest possible moment obviously needs to re-think the whole transition thing.  ...

Why should legally changing my name be important to me?

My given name is used to reference me perhaps once a month, if that.

My photo ID expired in 1998. I think I used it once. (no joke)

My point is that the importance of the legal name change varies in importance.

It is of next to no importance to me and how I live.

Quote from: Kimberly on September 25, 2005, 04:51:20 PM
Why should legally changing my name be important to me?

My given name is used to reference me perhaps once a month, if that.

My photo ID expired in 1998. I think I used it once. (no joke)

My point is that the importance of the legal name change varies in importance.

It is of next to no importance to me and how I live.

I suppose I should remember that some people don't have the same habits that I do...

I use my debit card FOR EVERYTHING, which has my legal name on it.  And for credit card purchases they usually ask for ID.  Writing a check always meant someone seeing my old name, so I just never wrote checks.

I'm 24 and I look younger than that, so if I go out to a bar (to drink or not), I will ALMOST ALWAYS get carded.

I am constantly calling someone about an account I have, whether it's phone, utilities, to get a cable repair man to come, the bank, credit cards, prescription drugs.  Having all this in my new name means I don't have to pretend to be "him" anymore.

To get a library card you have to have a picture ID.  To get a Blockbuster card you have to show a picture ID.  And everytime I went to those places before I changed my name, I had to argue with them that yes, that really was my name.  "But Miss, that's a guy's name.  You shouldn't be using someone else's card."  Going to the doctor, the dentist, the eye doctor... legal name, legal name, legal name. 

What I'm getting at is, unless you live in the foothills of Tinbuktu, the society we live in today is based around your legal identity.  In the six months I lived part-time with my old name, I had to constantly use it, and I was constantly praying nobody would ask to see it.  But I suppose that if you didn't drive a car, had no bank accounts, no credit cards, payed cash for everything, had no phones, no lights or running water or gas heat, and never asked people for any services of any kind, then yes, I can imagine a name change meaning nothing to you.

Aside from the everyday conveniences of life, just knowing my legal name is Amy, and knowing that nobody on the face of the earth can tell me any different is very validating.  Seeing your new, gender-correct name on a passport, driver's license, or whatever else you need really makes what you're doing hit home.  With me, it made me ecstatic.  Going full-time meant nobody would ever think of me as male again.  I can't see that happening if your name is inherently male.

Amy

Quote from: Cassandra on September 25, 2005, 04:11:28 PM
I'd definitely close out that credit card Amy. If they take this long with the name, how long are they going to take on a real problem like somebody stealing your card?

Cassie

I had not thought of that Cassandra.  Good point.  I'm definitely closing that account.  I don't need it anyway.  Thanks!

Amy

yeah, well, if one is really serious about transition, it just isn't happening if you keep using a male name and kind of come off as well, this is the way I feel right now in regaqrds to presentation .... it is leaving an "out" and changes the way people see you and relate to you, and if they relate to you in anyway but 100% female, then you are missing the proper interaction to actually transition into anything.

Terri

damn gals.. That is way to expensive! In Norway name change is free!