Good morning everyone! Hope all is well. x
I have two questions that I'll combine into this one post since they aren't very lengthy (and ahead of time, I am sorry if I placed this in the wrong section or these questions have already been answered ... it's hard to view the topics off from a crap phone.  ) Personal experience is great for responding! Your help is appreciated!

1) On average, how much does a name change cost? (USA, Maine)

2) Top surgery is SO expensive and as far as I know, my insurance will *not* cover the cost ... How does one go about affording it? (For my area and the next state around, the average pricing is roughly $9,000-11,000.)

Name change you can expect around $300 total.


If you start saving, even modestly, you can achieve your goals. That is the first step anyway. There are a few places you can apply for grants to. They are hard to get since they are few and there are many who apply. Some people have tried crowd funding. If you do, remember that you can't ask for funds for it here. You can also sell things either on ebay or sell items you make.

Every journey begins with a single step, that includes saving money.


number correction

Quote from: LordKAT on July 25, 2015, 01:03:13 PM
Name change you can expect around $500 total.

Woah! Is that Maine-specific? In Oregon my total cost was $131, and that includes filing for $110 and judgement copies for $21 total.

My top is covered so I don't have much to share as far as saving up/affording it goes but if you just put in a certain amount from every paycheck, and extra when you get it (e.g tax refunds), you should be there in no time. Cutting down extra expenses (like avoiding overpriced meals/treats out too often, like Starbucks) will also help.

Not Maine specific, that was filing fee,notary fees, newspaper ads, Certified copies, etc.

$500 bones for a name change???
I live in Virginia and all i had to do was fill out a form, get it notarized (went to my bank no charge) and sent it in with a $35.00 fee.

I'm 30 and live with my parents (couldn't support myself when I lived on my own) so I was able to save up enough money for the surgery. I'm still waiting for my insurance to give me my money back but, I'm not going to hold my breath.

The second most expensive part was the newspaper. $80 on its own, notary was like 10, 131 filing fee, 5 copies at $5 each...Oops, $300 I miss wrote.


Not counting fees for changing my birth cert.

Quote from: LordKAT on July 25, 2015, 01:03:13 PM
Name change you can expect around $500 total.
Some people have tried crowd funding.

I always hear of crowd funding but have yet to encounter anybody that it has actually worked for. I set up a couple of crowdfunding things.
One when I tried running for office... Zero
One when a friend was in desperate straits - her well pump had died and she's disabled and was without water. Nobody funded and nobody wanted to know - not even social services. In the end I raided my piggy bank since nobody cared.
One for me for sex change and in three years it raised precisely nothing. I closed it then - no point in flogging a dead horse.

Does anybody know anybody in real life for whom it has actually worked? To me it just seems like an urban myth.

I've seen a few FTMs use gofundme (I think that's it)  I see some people get like a grand out of it sometimes but they usually have like 10,000 online friends so I suppose that helps them. I personally couldn't take donations from friends.

Quote from: RaptorChops on July 25, 2015, 03:46:49 PM
I've seen a few FTMs use gofundme (I think that's it)  I see some people get like a grand out of it sometimes but they usually have like 10,000 online friends so I suppose that helps them. I personally couldn't take donations from friends.

That's the whole point. Nobody knows anybody in real life that has ever got verifiable money out if crowdfunding. Just seems like hocus pokus to me.

It's pretty much like these career builder adverts. I know nobody that ever got a worthwhile job out of them - scams and junk jobs, yes but real jobs? No.

I'm pretty skeptical of online claims.

Whoosh! I'm now a rainbow colored flying clam. Proof is not needed - its the internet.

But going back to the OP, I almost changed my name when I became a US citizen but didn't. Perhaps I should have?

Quote from: Valkyrie_2 on July 25, 2015, 03:54:22 PM
That's the whole point. Nobody knows anybody in real life that has ever got verifiable money out if crowdfunding. Just seems like hocus pokus to me.

Yeah and on top of that I think the website takes out a bunch of money too so you aren't getting the whole amount.

That $500 for a name change is probably an upper-end estimate - chances are it'd be less. If you want to know you can contact the courts and ask what the fee is, contact the newspaper to see what the cost for the notice is, etc.

Quote from: tgchar21 on July 25, 2015, 04:52:31 PM
That $500 for a name change is probably an upper-end estimate - chances are it'd be less. If you want to know you can contact the courts and ask what the fee is, contact the newspaper to see what the cost for the notice is, etc.

Just remember not every county requires a notice in the papers. Mine didn't.

True, not all states do, but Wisconsin and several others do require it.

Around $500 total cost is in line with what a name change costs in MN, when you add it all up; the court fee is about $325, and certified copies of the order are $16 each (my lawyer said 4 was a reasonable number). Then there's the new driver's license, and if you own a car or house, the titles have to be updated... they're smallish fees individually, but they add up fast.  If you're poor, you can get the court fee waived, but you're still on the hook for everything else. If you have a will or or other legal documents which need updating, then you get into lawyers' fees...

And if you want a new passport within a reasonable time frame, it could cost you up to $200 or so, no matter which state you're in, depending on whether you already have one and how old it is.

But it's really cool when you get it -- mine came yesterday.

Thank you so very much everyone! Your input was greatly appreciated!

I live in northern Virginia, so this may not help you much. My name change by itself cost me $41. Two additional copies of the court order rounded it out to $45.

It cost me another $200 to get it updated on all of my personal paperwork (driver's license, new passport with updated name and gender, etc.). The passport was obviously the most expensive thing here, but I wanted it for employment purposes. I believe the driver's license was somewhere between $20-30.

My top surgery was $8450. I had been planning to pay the full amount and put it on a credit card, but my mom ended up giving me $6500 towards it at the last minute. I still paid the remaining balance myself. I work full time and purposefully keep my expenses as low as possible, which is what I would recommend you try to do as well.

Quote from: ftmax on July 26, 2015, 05:54:03 PM
I live in northern Virginia

First we get the same surgeon, get the same handsome nipples, now we live in the same area?? Lol

Quote from: RaptorChops on July 26, 2015, 07:02:43 PM
First we get the same surgeon, get the same handsome nipples, now we live in the same area?? Lol

ARE YOU SERIOUS Hahaha I'm going to laugh if we go to the same doctor.

haha my endo is Dr.Dempsey he doesn't take insurance though so I doubt you go to him (not saying people can't afford him but I don't know if many guys want to be shelling out $600 every 6 months) plus he's in Rockville, MD . My Gender Therapist was Dr.Martha Harris, but I think she may not be practicing anymore :*(

Quote from: RaptorChops on July 27, 2015, 03:07:43 PM
haha my endo is Dr.Dempsey he doesn't take insurance though so I doubt you go to him (not saying people can't afford him but I don't know if many guys want to be shelling out $600 every 6 months) plus he's in Rockville, MD . My Gender Therapist was Dr.Martha Harris, but I think she may not be practicing anymore :*(

Ah, nope. I go to Whitman Walker in DC. Only costs me around $100 quarterly with hormones included. Can't wait till I'm done my first year and only have to get blood drawn annually!