I finally got the money together yesterday to submit my paperwork to change my name! I'm really excited. The people at the clerk's office were really nice. I was trying to find my way up to the next floor to get to the treasurer's office (for different paperwork) and they have this half floor thing and the stairs behind a door with a tiny sign and one of the women who helped me calls out "Ben the stairs are over here!"
It really made my day.
Anyone know about the turn around is for judicial review on this stuff? A month? Two?
It takes a little bit, back when I was trying to change my name I had to post it in the newspaper and leave it there for 3 weeks.
Someone contested against it and the judge I was assigned is extremely sexist, so I'm stuck with my same name.
I have a buddy who changed his middle name, the process took him around 3 or 4 months if I remember correctly.
Boo on the judge saying no. I'm basically a nobody, so I'm hoping it'll go uncontested. Got my fingers crossed.
Trust me, I'm a nobody too.
I'm trying again here soon, hopefully I won't get the dreaded Anna Moran as a judge again.
Good luck to you on your wait, I'm sure you'll have no problems, except for getting impatient maybe lol
Gotta hurry up and wait. Like bein in the army lol
Good luck!
You may consider hiring a lawyer if it's a real issue since they tend to have connections to judges and know who to go see to get the changes done hassle free.
My parents know a lawyer who helped them w/ their adoption stuff and such, but I'm trying as hard as I can to avoid extra fees. If it comes down to it, I'll give him a call, but I reeeeeally want to avoid it.
Thanks for the advice, though, guys. I'll definitely be on the lookout!
Quote from: Ptarus on July 19, 2014, 07:39:27 PM
It takes a little bit, back when I was trying to change my name I had to post it in the newspaper and leave it there for 3 weeks.
Someone contested against it and the judge I was assigned is extremely sexist, so I'm stuck with my same name.
I have a buddy who changed his middle name, the process took him around 3 or 4 months if I remember correctly.
Just wondering, where do you live?
@OP, congrats and good luck. I'm from a very conservative state and I didn't have any problems.
Alaska
Quote from: Ptarus on July 20, 2014, 10:36:22 AM
Alaska
Hopefully things go better this time. Good luck
UPDATE: I got my signed paperwork back yesterday! I emailed the paper the Judge said I had to post in, and I'm waiting to hear back from them to see who I have to talk to to get it posted.
I was really surprised by the quick turn around. I was expecting a couple of weeks, at least!
I think it really depends on where you live. My name change within my state happened really fast and smoothly.
My name change was much easier than I anticipated. The worst parts were paying a tonne of money [all cash, and no signs stating that the clerks' office doesn't take anything else] and being anxious on my court date. But it was worth it.
In Georgia [where I currently reside], the process was this:
- File paperwork and pay a lot of money in cash to the county clerks' office
- Get a court date [mine was about two months after filing]
- Go to local newspaper and run an advert once a week for four weeks declaring name change intent
- Wait for court date
- Show up for court with proof of newspaper advert [Nerve-wracking! But the judge I had was really nice, very polite.]
- Take judge's orders to clerks' office and pay more money for copies
- PROFIT!
Now you know I have to do this...
Filing paperwork for name change: $230
Newspaper advert declaring name change: $90
Copies of judge's orders: $20
Finally ending a thirty-two years-long nightmare: PRICELESS!
There are some things money can't buy. For everything else there's Mastercard. Or in my case, cash, because the damn clerks' office takes nothing else.
I am legally my chosen name. I finally managed to get into the clerk's office today and she was just like "looks good! here's a stamp. Five dollars, cash or check--oh, you don't have either?" shifty eyes "Just take it and go. You're good!" All I could say was thank you. After last week (I got an abscess in my tooth and lost my job due to tardies), this was a very welcome breath of fresh air.
I am so ecstatic! I've been waiting for this for a long time, now. I'll be changing my name at the school first because all they require is the court order.
I'm kinda hung up, though, because I really do want to do all my documentation changes at the same time, but I need...permission, I guess the best word is, from two physicians to get it done on my social, which will be elligible to change my license and my BC (I'm in NY, and I'm 90% sure this is the case?). I know my Endo will sign off on it, but the person I've been dealing with throughout my transition so far has been a PA at my GP's office, so I'm a little stuck there, unless she can get him to sign off on it, as well.
Still. I'm really happy about this.
Good luck with the name change! :D
I have to say, from over the pond, you guys really seem to have a complicated, expensive and very unnecessary process for name changing :( is there any particular reason it's that way? Here in UK you just hop online, fill in a form and select your desired name and pay like £30 or something. Job done and paperwork in the post about a week or two later! In fact, you even get a discount if you decide to change it again!! Crazy XD I just don't understand why the US have made it so complicated for you :(
Name changes aren't complicated at all. You just take the court order to the SS office and done. Same for DL and any other place that needs your name changed.
Only exception is military and some schools, notably high schools.
Quote from: LordKAT on September 19, 2014, 02:29:50 AM
Name changes aren't complicated at all. You just take the court order to the SS office and done. Same for DL and any other place that needs your name changed.
Only exception is military and some schools, notably high schools.
Then you all make it sound so complicated! Lol :D
Gender change is a whole different ballgame, then you need surgeon letters and have complications, name change is a breeze.
Well that makes more sense >.> lol
Quote from: jonjon on September 19, 2014, 02:22:47 AM
Here in UK you just hop online, fill in a form and select your desired name and pay like £30 or something. Job done and paperwork in the post about a week or two later! In fact, you even get a discount if you decide to change it again!! Crazy XD I just don't understand why the US have made it so complicated for you :(
Okay, I was already gagging to get over there and be with my beloved. This makes me even more eager. If my new records don't arrive soon, I'mma say 'sod it' and start swimming.
Quote from: jonjon on September 19, 2014, 02:22:47 AM
Good luck with the name change! :D
I have to say, from over the pond, you guys really seem to have a complicated, expensive and very unnecessary process for name changing :( is there any particular reason it's that way? Here in UK you just hop online, fill in a form and select your desired name and pay like £30 or something. Job done and paperwork in the post about a week or two later! In fact, you even get a discount if you decide to change it again!! Crazy XD I just don't understand why the US have made it so complicated for you :(
Not entirely true. It can be done that way, or it can be done for free. There's no reason to use one of the sites you pay for, they're all as legal as each other, so as long as you have the curvy wording (and there's free sites which give you that) might as well print it off for free!
I didn't think you needed anything besides the court order for your birth certificate, license, and SS in NYS? Where did you hear that you did (I'm curious)? I know the process is different between Upstate and NYC/the five boroughs so I don't know if that's the case at hand here or not (because to be honest I don't know the process for NYC/the five boroughs).
Quote from: Noah G. on September 21, 2014, 11:54:26 AM
I didn't think you needed anything besides the court order for your birth certificate, license, and SS in NYS? Where did you hear that you did (I'm curious)? I know the process is different between Upstate and NYC/the five boroughs so I don't know if that's the case at hand here or not (because to be honest I don't know the process for NYC/the five boroughs).
Talking about the gender change, not the name change; I'm good on that part. The gender part needs professional diagnosis or proof of surgery, multiple diagnoses in the case of BC, which can be used for SS (DL gender marker cannot, AFAIK, be used to change the gender in the SSA's systems).
Okay, that makes more sense. I misunderstood and didn't realize you had meant gender marker change in the paragraph (that would explain it not making much sense to me).
Is NYS now accepting diagnoses in place of surgery for changing one's gender on their BC? That's news to me, last I knew they were requiring double mastectomy and a full hysterectomy (I know, not the proper, technical/medical term but we all know what it means). I'll have to look into that and see whether I might be able to get that changed sooner than anticipated..
I believe you're right that you need your birth certificate changed to change it with SS. That was how I had always understood it, that a driver's license wasn't enough. Of course, with how much it seems things may have changed since I last looked into this who knows, haha
Yeah, they just changed it in NYS in June, but NYC has their own rules. Afaik, NYC hasn't changed their rules yet
Sweet, I live in upstate NY so that's good news for me. I'll have to refresh myself on the gender marker change process and figure out when to get that done.
Thanks for the info, Ben; and I should have already said this, but, congratulations on your name change and how smooth the process was for you! The ladies at your office sound fantastic.
No prob, and thanks! They seriously are. I feel like I should get them flowers lolhttp://www.lambdalegal.org/publications/changing-birth-certificate-sex-designations-state-by-state-guidelines#O that's the link for the bc info (scroll up a bit). Apparently a PA can write the letter and it's just one letter needed! Good stuff.