Hey everyone,

My name is Michelle.

I am 22 and am a trans girl based in Brooklyn. NY who started medical transition about 8 months ago.

I was not expecting to change my name or gender marker for at least 2 years but, to my surprise, hormones have done so much to change my appearance in such a small amount of time.

My chin is literally gone! lol
And all my friends are sort of pushing me to start calling myself Michelle instead of Michael cause they say I look too female to pass as male.

Anyways, I was just wondering if anyone knew of a good lawyer or place I could go that could help me with the whole process of changing my name/gender marker on all my identity documents. I am a busy student and also just know that it will be pretty hard for me to figure it out all on my own and am willing to pay someone to help.

Also just wanted to say I'm excited to be here!

Ok, well thank you so much!

Hi Michelle,

The Transgender Law Center has a good guide online on ID change... I'm in CA and just used that and there was no need for a lawyer... I'm not sure how things differ in your state but the process was pretty painless for me including birth certificate change... Hope all goes smoothly for you!

Onward We Go!!!!

Ashley

As a student, depending on your income, you may be able to get help through The Name Change Project which provides free legal name change services to transgender people.  They have offices in:

    Albany, NY - Albany County
    Buffalo, NY - Erie County   
    New York City - all 5 boroughs/counties   
    Rochester, NY - Monroe County

http://www.transgenderlegal.org/work_show.php?id=7

The above links that folks mentioned should probably work for you. If they don't, I'd suggest giving one of the clinics that does HRT a call and see if they can refer you to someone. If they're anything like what I've got in DC, they may know of or host free legal assistance for trans people in terms of getting documentation updated.

Moon,

Hi and welcome to the site.

I am pretty early in my journey so I don't really have much info for you. However, we have a large member base from all over. I hope you find what you are looking for.

I also want to share some links with you. They are mostly welcome information and the rules that govern the site. If you have not had a chance to look through them, please take a moment:

Site Terms of Service & Rules to Live By	Standard Terms & Definitions	Post Ranks (including when you can upload an avatar)
Reputation rules	News posting & quoting guidelines	Photo, avatars, & signature images policy

Once again, welcome to Susan's. Look around, ask questions and join in.

With warmth,

Joanna