Hey Everyone,

I am wondering if anyone is on here and is from northern California specifically but it doesn't matter so much. I'm wanting to change my name and I will admit it's overwhelming simply because I'm not so good with paperwork. I'm 19 and I want to do as much possible without asking from my family so much. Should I bring it up and ask my Gender therapist with the process or what?? I have all the paper work printed out and slowly filling it out I guess this is just new to me in general with any type of paper work :/

I'm from Alaska, so the laws are different in my home state. However, I did live in California for a while. I lived in San Pedro so that's very much south.

If you're worried about laws asking your therapist is a good move. You can also check with a local lawyer. When I was going through my emancipation paperwork I found several lawyers who were willing to help me in both alaska and Texas. Not the same states but they gave me good, sound advice as legal professionals.

If you are unsure if your paperwork, there are family court and civil lawyers who are willing to give consultations for free or close to. You can also talk to legal aid or anyone at the courthouse.

I don't live in California, but I can second Ayden's advice about free legal assistance. Look for a local LGBT group or legal aid office. Both of these are great options for quality, free or low cost assistance. I'm in Virginia and the clerks at the courthouse where I was dropping off my name change order were very helpful in making sure I had the correct paperwork and all the required pieces to the puzzle.

Yeah, checking with local courthouses/legal professionals is a good move, and your therapist should also have this information. I've been doing research on this myself (I live in the Bay Area), and the Transgender Law Center is also a great place to start. They have a lot of specific information about California.

Some links for you:
About California's new name change laws - http://transgenderlawcenter.org/issues/id/faq-the-vital-statistics-modernization-act
Susan's wiki entry on CA - https://www.susans.org/wiki/Changing_legal_name_in_the_US#California
Transgender Law Center's "ID Please" Name Change Guide - http://transgenderlawcenter.org/issues/id/id-please

I hope that helps. Be sure to update with your progress!

If you're anywhere near Sacramento, I've heard that The Gender Health Center is a great help when trying to change legal name and gender marker.  You can schedule an appointment to go in for free, and they'll help you with all the paperwork and info on the process. 

http://www.thegenderhealthcenter.org/