Susan's Place Transgender Resources

I'm beginning to realize that it is very important to get a name change

The problem I'm running into is people don't believe that I'm the person on my ID

I sometimes get called Mrs. _________  Like today when I went to register my car

Luckily as I've learned, In the area I live, several women go about taking care of biz during the day while their husbands are at work

I deposited a check at the bank and even though I presented in drab... The teller said "Can I help you with anything else ma'am?"

But the real problem is that I have no clue how to go about getting a name change  ???

Changing your name is very important. You may be able to change it without hiring a lawyer depending on where you are and how complicated the process is. I did it on my own and I spent around $300 to do it.  I had to pay for filing fees and for putting a legal notice in the local classifieds. It took me a couple of months to do the paperwork and a few months to get everything straightened out after the name change hearing.

What if one has a name that's non gender specific? And I don't mean say for example Jackie, which is typically a female name here in the UK vs. say Jackie Chan the male Hong Kong / Hollywood actor. I meant a (foreign country) name written in English that gives no clue to gender.

I do have to say, having such a name makes transitioning in terms of work & educational history having the right name much easier. :)

Yup, if my name was Kim, I'd have no problem.

Does anyone have advise as to how to go about a name change?

If you live near a big bookstore, most have books of legal documents or even name change kits (depending on your state.) Arizona, my neck-o-the-woods, has kits your can buy for about $20-25 that have all the required paperwork and all the how-to info you could need. All that's required is to fill it out, and take it down to the courthouse. (of course you'd still have to do the hearing, and public notification etc...).  If you can get your hands on one of those books or kits, It'd be a good resource to have.

You're going to have to advertise that you're doing it, with public postings and such. I'm establishing "residency" at a friends house on the coast (same state) so I can publicly out myself somewhere I'm unknown. I looked at Boise too as that's fairly close, but Oregons rules seemed more bearable.

Name change rules and procedures vary state to state and country to country, so all will depend on where you are.

In my state you fill out a form, and schedule an appt with the judge in probate court.  Name change granted.  I did not have to do any newspaper postings; they never mentioned it, asked me to do it, nor did they tell me if they did it.  Paid a fee of $150, and they gave me 2 copies.  Additional copies were $10 each.

A non-issue.

Jay

If you live near a big bookstore, most have books of legal documents or even name change kits (depending on your state.) Arizona, my neck-o-the-woods, has kits your can buy for about $20-25 that have all the required paperwork and all the how-to info you could need.

Or you could just sit right where you are, google it, and find exactly the same stuff on the web.

Hi Virginia

It was extremely important to me when I stared out and it was one of the first things I ever did.  Went to the appropriate government department filled out the form got a certified copy.  Paid a fee for the privilege.

I then went on a changing name spree.  My first name is gender neutral, it was very common when I was born (lucky pick), my two middle names are female and surname is extremely common, which was picked to make it difficult for people to look you up.

Having my name changed so early on in the process has made my life extremely easy with each organization that needed my name.  Any form that asked for previous names, I avoided like the plague or provided some answer that would not reveal my past life and stay within the law.

Virginia I would say "change your name", because it  will create the least amount of hassle later on and finally it will be bring you the inner peace you so desire and which you have so expressed in your posts.

Kind regards
Sarah B

TS Roadmap has a really good guide to the process here: http://www.tsroadmap.com/reality/name-change.html (http://www.tsroadmap.com/reality/name-change.html)
Some places, like Washington, it's extremely easy. Other places, it's a big hassle and can be expensive. If you have a legitimate claim to residency in 2 or more states, use the one where it's easiest.

Quote from: tekla on March 02, 2010, 07:35:55 AMOr you could just sit right where you are, google it, and find exactly the same stuff on the web.

Pretty much what I was going to suggest. It's how I found out what to do, ended up costing a grand total of $157 plus $5 per copy for 3 certified copies, and took less than 5 minutes in front of a judge's desk. Changing my name was very important to me, not only for the hassles of having to show ID with a male name, but bank accounts, utility bills, and all the many things that we put our names on. Most important though was symbolizing a complete break with my former life, and it feels so good to hear people use your real, legal, female name.

Quote from: Keroppi on March 02, 2010, 12:57:02 AM
What if one has a name that's non gender specific? And I don't mean say for example Jackie, which is typically a female name here in the UK vs. say Jackie Chan the male Hong Kong / Hollywood actor. I meant a (foreign country) name written in English that gives no clue to gender.

I do have to say, having such a name makes transitioning in terms of work & educational history having the right name much easier. :)

I have a non gender-specific name, which I like, so I'm keeping it.  I only know of 2 other people with my name, one of which is female, and the other one I can't remember.  I mean, if your name is Richard, or Benjamin, etc., then yes changing your name is super important.  But if your name is something like Sydney, then maybe it's not a big deal?

Other than HRT, name change was the first thing I did.  And I got my new license and was never 'Mrs. < last name >' again.  In Oregon it was only $140 and a little time for the court.

I live in SoCal and for me it was crazy expensive. That's the main reason it took me so long to do it. First there's the fee to file the court order - which they had just increased due to California being bankrupt - which was $355, then came the fee to file the notice in the newspaper for 4 weeks, which was another $120, then the fee to get 3 certified copies, another $76.50. All together it was a total of $551.50.

All just to change my name.

Then comes the hassle of changing it everywhere. You never really understand just how many places have your personal information until you need to update it. I have only recently completed most of the updates, 3 1/2 months later, but there are still a few left to get to.

However, the name change was one of the best things...to finally see everyone refer to me correctly on all my documents, and not having to wonder how to acknowledge myself on the phone with them - whether to use my old male name or my female name - has been great! The process itself was not hard at all, it was just the cost and time it takes.

~Sarah

Quote from: tekla on March 02, 2010, 07:35:55 AM
If you live near a big bookstore, most have books of legal documents or even name change kits (depending on your state.) Arizona, my neck-o-the-woods, has kits your can buy for about $20-25 that have all the required paperwork and all the how-to info you could need.

Or you could just sit right where you are, google it, and find exactly the same stuff on the web.

Ah yes, but Google doesn't pay my paycheck! ;)

Quote from: SarahR on March 02, 2010, 02:53:05 PM
However, the name change was one of the best things...to finally see everyone refer to me correctly on all my documents, and not having to wonder how to acknowledge myself on the phone with them - whether to use my old male name or my female name - has been great! The process itself was not hard at all, it was just the cost and time it takes.

That was for me, too.  I changed mine as soon as I sure I wanted to present myself to the world as a woman.  I thought it would be no big deal, but when the papers came (no court visit here) that said the STATE GOVERNMENT in its infinite wisdom says I am Katherine, I was absolutely thrilled. ;D

Change it as soon as you know this is what you want to do.  It's a big hassle but eliminates a lot of continuing hassles down the road.

- Kate

I changed mine after I had been on T for a few months, had had my hysto (needed F name and marker to get it covered) and was preparing to come out at work.  Time frame was I applied for the name change after 1.5 months on T; it was approved when I had been on T for 2 months.  I came out at work in month 3.


Jay

Yeah, getting anything done in Cali takes so much money anymore.  It's almost getting to the point that bribing the judge and clerks would be cheaper.

Thank you all for your replies and especially for the info.   :icon_chick:

I'll be looking into the requirements for my state

I wonder what states are the easiest and/or least expensive

"How important is a name change?"

Apparently pretty damn important. I filed my tax return back on Feb 6th-ish. The Where's My Refund page said I should get it by March 2nd, yesterday. It never came, so I called. They said that since the name I put on my tax return (my new name) didn't match what they had on record (my old name) that there was a problem. I told them I changed my name with the SSA 4 months ago and it should be correct.

They had to send it off to another department to verify my information and then continue processing it. If they need any information from me it could take 6-8 weeks for them to contact me. After which I'll have to send in whatever information they requested (probably my court order), then wait for them to get it, verify it, and finally process my return. I'm looking at having to wait another few of months now to get my refund since the stupid SSA apparently never did their job and didn't notified the IRS of the change.

The worst part about it? I needed that refund to partially fund the SRS later this month. Now I'm having to scramble to figure out where I'm going to get it in the next 3 1/2 weeks.

So yes, doing the name change is pretty important. But even more important is making sure that the SSA notifies the IRS of the change so it doesn't screw up your tax return.

~Sarah

Sorry to hear that you are having hassles with the IRS.  Is it possible to go in with your court documents and see a high up manager to sort out your return?

I never dealt with counter staff when it was in regards to my circumstances, it was too public to have my affairs discussed in that manner.  In an office with someone was more private and managers could do more than the counter staff.

Kind regards
Sarah B

Quote from: Sarah B on March 03, 2010, 06:43:31 PM
Is it possible to go in with your court documents and see a high up manager to sort out your return?

Wow, I didn't even know they had local offices. I see they have one 8 minutes from my work. I'll try going in tomorrow and see what they can do for me to speed up the process. It's seems like something that they may not be able to help with since it's probably already in the hands of some "error processing" department or something, but it's worth a try. Thanks for the idea!

I don't really care at this point if the whole place overhears the situation as long as they clear it up.

~Sarah

I'm happy to hear the news Sarah.  Be assertive and ask for what you want and do not take no (or other delaying tactic) for an answer.

Take care and go get them.

Sarah B

Sorry to hear that Sarah.

I filed with SS in Jan 09 and then did my taxes.  It wasnt' an issue for me, likely because I OWED them a boatload of money and I paid them.

Probably being more PIA because you're getting a refund.

(Note to self: DO TAXES!)

Jay

Awesome, Awesome, Awesome, Beth

Way to go "Beth~chella"

Now, that is a statement with the right attitude  :D

Excellent, well done.

Kind regards
Sarah B

Yay Beth! :eusa_clap:

One more step along this wonderful road. :eusa_dance:

- Kate

That is soooooo Rockin' Beth!  :icon_biggrin:

K8 I would say this instead:

Quote from: K8 on March 09, 2010, 07:29:30 AM
Yay Beth! :eusa_clap:

One more step along this wonderful fantastic road. :eusa_dance:

Kind regards
Sarah B

I initially chose the OC Register. They charge like a few hundred or something. So I changed it to Irvine World News. They charged $120 or so. My convenience has a price limit :-)

~Sarah

I live in Cleveland, Oh the process was  really simple, fill out the name change application, take it to the courthouse and file it, pay the cashier $111.00 then go upstairs to schedule a time with a magistrate 30 days later, i picked an early time, the secretary said if it is later in the day the judge would sign it the next day and they would mail it to you and could take up to 5 days,  the court took care of the add, they put it the legal news not the regular news paper.

On the appointed date i went back to the courthouse, i was called in to the magistrates chamber, she asked if this was an adult name change, of course i said yes, she looked at me and said approved, then signed it, i was in there less than 2 minutes tops, it went almost immediately to a judge to be signed, at it was done.

Changing all the paperwork was the hard part.

Paula