name change help

[DanteJaphrimel]

i went to my local courthouse to file for my name change for the third time. they looked over the documents that i had, then told me that i was missing somethings, but refused to tell me what else i needed because "they can't give legal advice". i'm tired of having them screw me around. this has been going on for almost a year. i dont know what else i can do. i live in a small town in pennsylvania that tends to be very closed minded.

[Dena]

Welcome to Susan's Place. I am not a lawyer but I can google. I found this link that may allow you to figure out what they want. I would argue that they are not giving legal advice when they tell you what they want but you probably have somebody pretty inexperienced. If that doesn't tell you what the problem is, Google Pennsylvania name change requirements and see if you can figure it out from there.

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[Dayta]

I was snooping around to see if I could find a guide for PA name/gender changes, and I did see this:  "The local rules and procedures to obtain a name change differ in each county in Pennsylvania. "  I did see a few more detailed sites for the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia areas, but it sounds like you're in neither of those.  If I stumble across anything substantive I'll be sure to post it back.  Stay strong and good luck! 

Erin

p.s. ooh, I found this link, I can't speak for the veracity but it seems to have a lot of useful details - http://www.transcentralpa.org/resources_Penn_Name_Change.cfm

[Sharon Anne McC]

*

Different states impose different laws; apparently different counties in the same state impose different procedures for your state.  Frustrating.  Agh!

Another possible help could be the courthouse law librarian or self-help desk.  Court clerks are quite helpful even here at red-state Arizona.  County courts provide free legal information, forms, and checklists - no lawyer required.  Last I saw for here, the change form included an actual checklist a resident can download and complete from their computer.  Maybe become an activist and work to improve Pennsylvania's requirements.

If your court clerk is merely giving you their run-around, then your next step just might need to be a lawyer to deal with their intransigence.  There is quite a lot of anti-trans sentiment out there, especially post-election. 

Look for your local lgbt or pflag entries in your telephone directory.  Those support groups usually list legal services.  You may find a new friend who will lead you through this process.

Best of wishes.

*

[KathyLauren]

refused to tell me what else i needed because "they can't give legal advice".

That sounds like bullpoop to me.  They don't want to serve you and are making up excuses to get you to go away.

Is there a legal aid organization you can go to to ask about the actual requirements?  Get them in writing, preferably a printout of the actual law or regulation that spells out the requirements, and take a copy with you next time to show them.

[DanteJaphrimel]

the county clerk of the courts is who is refusing to help me. the local legal aide doesn't work with name changes or at least that is what they told me. i might try talking to someone in one of the nearby counties.

the only document that i can think of that i didn't have is a fingerprint card from the state police. i'm going to wait a little before i go get that due to recent local events.

[patrick1967]

In PA you do need the fingerprints. So that could be it. If you want to pm me i can see what i can find out. I am in Pittsburgh and involved in the local pflag

[DanteJaphrimel]

i'm in a small town near State College.

[LShipley]

It is almost a certainty that they would need your fingerprint info first. As well as a background criminal history check. Once those are completed and turned into the court you shouldn't have a problem with the paperwork itself if you filled everything out.

Google your county's policies for name changes. It is normally the easiest thing to do out of all of this since anyone can change their name as long as it isn't a criminal reason

[elkie-t]

If they are so stubborn, get a free consultation from a local lawyer. Maybe even hire one. Or contact ACLU for help, they will be happy to kick beaurocrats


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[Dani]

One last bit of advice. If you still cannot get your name changed where you live, consider moving to a more friendly location. After 6 months, you should have no problems because of the move.

[annaqnguyen]

I don't know your financial wherewithals but if possible, engage an attorney specializing in this matter will save you countless hours of grief and vast amounts of guff.

In those states that do not have legislations governing gender marker change, such as Texas, where I live, it's up to the judge and her mood at the time to grant or deny a GM change petition.  Some counties have judges who are more sympathetic and more likely to grant those petitions.  Unfortunately, the only way to find those counties and judges are by word of mouth.  I started the Texas Name and Gender Marker Change wiki to record such information for Texas.  It's basically a repository of useful info from the Facebook page of the same name.  Maybe your local trans organizations have such info or pointers to such info?

Name change is far more common place.  People change their name when they get married, or want to get away from their credit history, or change their name because they want a cool name.  The procedure for that should be widely available, so I'd start with that.  A fingerprint card is almost a certainty, because otherwise criminals will be changing their identity willy nilly.

I'd say that the only additional requirements for a GM change would be a letter from your HRT doctor, and for good measure, a letter from your mental health provider (therapist, counselor, etc.).

[elkie-t]

Name change is far more common place.  People change their name when they get married, or want to get away from their credit history, or change their name because they want a cool name.  The procedure for that should be widely available, so I'd start with that.  A fingerprint card is almost a certainty, because otherwise criminals will be changing their identity willy nilly.

1) Name change is common
2) Name change does not alter your SSN, and you don't change your identity or credit history with it (new name gets recorded, but old name stays there as well. Therefore it's not that useful for criminals.
3) There's no fingerprinting involved in the name change process (maybe there is some weird state as an outlier, but in general - I never heard of it).

[KathyLauren]

Bureaucratic procedures vary widely from one jurisdiction to another.  Everyone should be familiar with which jurisdiction(s) they need to deal with and with what procedures are required for each of them.   In general, you should research the requirements for the municipality, county, state/province and country you currently live in as well as those of where you were born.

3) There's no fingerprinting involved in the name change process (maybe there is some weird state as an outlier, but in general - I never heard of it).

This is one where you need to research your own area.  Here in Nova Scotia, for example, fingerprints ARE required before a name change can be processed.  This is a new requirement, and I believe it is uniform all across Canada.  The idea is to establish a link between your new name and any criminal record that you might have.  That way, criminals cannot escape from their records by changing their names.  As a new requirement, it is likely to catch on in other places as well.

The point is that you cannot rely on Internet forum advice for your local requirements.  Everyone should contact the relevant agencies where they live and where they were born to find out what the specific requirements are on those places.

[annaqnguyen]

2) Name change does not alter your SSN, and you don't change your identity or credit history with it (new name gets recorded, but old name stays there as well. Therefore it's not that useful for criminals.

Your old name stays, but if  a bank looks up your credit history with your SS # and your new name, they will find nothing.  I know it sounds strange that one's credit history would be identified by anything other than just one's SS #, but that's how it is.

After I changed my name and GM, and after changing my bank accounts and credit cards, we needed to do some financial stuff that required looking up our credit history.  The only things the bank could find on my credit history were my new bank account info and new credit card info!  No other information showed up: previous credit cards, loans, mortgages, bank accounts, etc.

I have since found out that they'd need to look up my old name to find my credit history from before I change my name.  So, if someone has really messed up their credit rating, they can kinda get away from it by changing their name and not tell anybody about their old name.  I know people whom I am pretty sure have done that. Of course, it'd look weird that one's credit rating seems to have no past; I don't know how people would explain that away.

[elkie-t]

I did not realize you're talking about Canadian credit history.

I changed my last name, and believe me, as soon as I give anyone my ssn, they know all my old names, and even misspellings.



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[kat69]

Bureaucratic procedures vary widely from one jurisdiction to another.  Everyone should be familiar with which jurisdiction(s) they need to deal with and with what procedures are required for each of them.   In general, you should research the requirements for the municipality, county, state/province and country you currently live in as well as those of where you were born.
This is one where you need to research your own area.  Here in Nova Scotia, for example, fingerprints ARE required before a name change can be processed.  This is a new requirement, and I believe it is uniform all across Canada.  The idea is to establish a link between your new name and any criminal record that you might have.  That way, criminals cannot escape from their records by changing their names.  As a new requirement, it is likely to catch on in other places as well.

The point is that you cannot rely on Internet forum advice for your local requirements.  Everyone should contact the relevant agencies where they live and where they were born to find out what the specific requirements are on those places.

I just finished my name change in Ontario.  No fingerprints required.   Lots of forms, lots of signatures.  Even had the gender marker changed.  No issues here.

[annaqnguyen]

I did not realize you're talking about Canadian credit history.

I changed my last name, and believe me, as soon as I give anyone my ssn, they know all my old names, and even misspellings.

My credit history is U.S.

And yes, "anyone" may know a lot about you just from your SS#, but specifically, what was your experience with U.S. credit reporting agencies?  It'd be interesting if your experience is very different from mine.  If it is very different, then I'm at a loss to explain the discrepancy.

My one experience, as I mentioned, was when JP Morgan Chase looked up my credit history for a financial event.

[elkie-t]

I changed my name twice, I saw my credit reports from each of 3 reporting agencies, I bought a house twice, and was on an edge with a bankruptcy a few years back. So, I've dealt with credit a lot. I start with my ssn and then I give them either my new name, or sometimes the old one (if I had account with them before), but my old name is used only for verification purposes, along with dob, and my mailing address.

I haven't recently ran my own credit report, and maybe if your name don't match, you'd fail verification protocol? I don't know - normally, I just say - I've changed my name from this to that, but I stop doing it after a few first times, after first two-three months. Then - it's only updating my name and address at those institutions where I have an account. It's usually done most of the time over phone / internet, but sometimes they might want a fax or physical mail with copy of my ID.


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