I don't know how the papers are worded in other states/countries, but here in NY there are several spots on the petition with a blank for "his" or "her". There's an automatic online program that fills out the papers for you with the information you give them, which I plan to use instead of trying to fill the papers out by hand and messing it up. But the program has a section that says "Gender:" and then has a drop down arrow for Male or Female which is used to fill in either "his" or "her" in the correct areas of the petition. The thing is, I don't know whether to pick Male or Female. On one hand it did ask for gender, not sex. But on the other hand, I don't want to run into any problems and prolong the process.

I still have a few months before I can start the process, but my sex marker on my birth certificate still won't be changed at that point. If the petition says "his" but my birth cert. still has an F for Female, it might cause some problems. But if it says "her" and then has an obviously masculine name next to it, the judge might be reluctant to sign it. I could always mention my transition in the "reasons" section, but I don't really want to do that in case the judge I get is anti-LGBT (very possible in my area of NY which is inhabited by mostly close-minded people).

I may be over reacting and it could go really smoothly without any problems, but I just want to be prepared. So what would/did you do?

may i ask which website this is as i also live in NY? Also for the gender marker im pretty sure you have to use the one that is marked on your birth certificate at the present point. I would say a deny in a name change is rare even if you put down transition as a reason because they have no legal right to deny you and will have lawyers all up in their face if said case happens .

Quote from: Skyler Lusk on July 23, 2014, 05:53:17 PM
may i ask which website this is as i also live in NY? Also for the gender marker im pretty sure you have to use the one that is marked on your birth certificate at the present point. I would say a deny in a name change is rare even if you put down transition as a reason because they have no legal right to deny you and will have lawyers all up in their face if said case happens .

http://www.nycourts.gov/courthelp/namechangeinfo.html#Q4
If you go to that link, you'll find the link to the program. If you live in the actual State of NY, you should click the link that says "Adult Name Change DIY Form Program (Supreme Court)". If you live in New York City, you should click the link that says "Adult Name Change DIY Form Program (NYC Civil Court).

Also, thanks for the advice. I just really don't want to have to go through all that trouble of having to prove to the judge that I am indeed male or have to get a lawyer to fight it. I want to have my name legally changed before I graduate this coming year so that my diploma reflects the correct name, and I only have 3 months to get everything done (I'm hoping it'll be signed by then).

I literally just did this. Put the gender you have marked on your legal paperwork.
I got my signed paperwork back practically the next day (I submitted it last Friday, and the judge signed it on that Friday). I would shoot a message out to your local paper (or all of them, if there's more than one) to see what their process is for advertising name changes.
I put transition as my reason and had no trouble with getting it signed. The clerk staff were all very kind and respectful, as well.
Keep us posted!

Quote from: devention on July 23, 2014, 07:14:41 PM
I literally just did this. Put the gender you have marked on your legal paperwork.
I got my signed paperwork back practically the next day (I submitted it last Friday, and the judge signed it on that Friday). I would shoot a message out to your local paper (or all of them, if there's more than one) to see what their process is for advertising name changes.
I put transition as my reason and had no trouble with getting it signed. The clerk staff were all very kind and respectful, as well.
Keep us posted!

Alright. I guess I'll just do that. Hopefully luck is on my side as far as getting treated kindly by the clerk staff as well as the judge. Won't have an update for a while, but I'll let everyone know once it happens.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you, man!

This is the reason I gave on my petition:

So that my legal documents and employment records will match the name I use socially and professionally.

Simple, truthful, and doesn't enter any trans* wording into the public record.

-Jay

Quote from: JayDawg on July 24, 2014, 07:06:06 AM
This is the reason I gave on my petition:

So that my legal documents and employment records will match the name I use socially and professionally.

Simple, truthful, and doesn't enter any trans* wording into the public record.

-Jay

That sounds like a good reason, although a bit wordy I think. I'm thinking about something along the lines of "common use accompanied by gender transition". At first I had "due to" instead of "accompanied by" but I'm also going to change my last name and my transition doesn't really explain why I'm changing my last name as well. Eh...I think I should just stop worrying about it so much.

I wouldn't recommend the Adult DIY Program because it becomes public knowledge on the Internet and, with some searching by a vengeful person, it could come back to bite you in the butt someday. I was considering it but then it said anyone can see the records if done this way. Due to the nature of a transition, I'm opting to do this the old fashioned way since I plan to be stealth. It's basically the same as the online version so you should have no way to mess it up.

Of course, you'll want to use your legal gender for the records. I live in NY but not sure what would be done in this case since I only have a certificate of naturalization but I imagine I'd have to put down my legal gender.

Quote from: Neospector on July 24, 2014, 12:55:30 PM
I wouldn't recommend the Adult DIY Program because it becomes public knowledge on the Internet and, with some searching by a vengeful person, it could come back to bite you in the butt someday. I was considering it but then it said anyone can see the records if done this way. Due to the nature of a transition, I'm opting to do this the old fashioned way since I plan to be stealth. It's basically the same as the online version so you should have no way to mess it up.

Of course, you'll want to use your legal gender for the records. I live in NY but not sure what would be done in this case since I only have a certificate of naturalization but I imagine I'd have to put down my legal gender.

The papers can be viewed by anybody whether you use the online program or fill them out yourself because it is a matter of public record. The only way it will be kept confidential is if you can prove to the judge that your safety is in jeopardy (basically the only way is if you were in an abusive relationship). So either way a vengeful person could see the records if they really want to take the time to go all the way the court house and look up the index number. But I have a couple of things working for me: 1. I'm young so the only people who have a problem with me being trans are also young and wouldn't go out of their way to do all that, 2. I literally know nobody in the county I technically live in (everybody I know lives in the county that is 5 minutes down the road) so when I do change my name nobody I know will even see the notification in the newspaper and therefor won't be able to contest it, and 3. I don't really care about future employers finding my name change because I don't plan on lying about it if they ever ask.
I remember the DIY program said something along the lines of "do not use this program if your safety is in danger" or something like that. If that's what you're referring to, they only said that because the program doesn't have that extra part that asks the judge to seal your file. I mean, in all the name change research I've done, I've never once found an individual person's petition so I really don't think it's that easy to find. If somebody later on down the road really wanted to find my file, they would have to go to the library and find old newspaper stories, find my notification which lists the index number, and then go to Wampsville and look up the index number of my case. Basically what I'm getting at is you (nor I) should worry about people finding out later on down the road because it's quite hard/bothersome to get that information (especially if you move to a different state).

Yeah, I'll just use my legal gender and once the judge sees the reason it'll make sense.