i won’t go into details as to why i wish to do this, but i do.
i would think it would be a simple procedure… and i’ sure it is. problem is, i have no idea how to go about doing this.
all my web searches have come up with “how to change your name” books and such. does anyone here know the details? please help me 
btw, i live in california. for what it’s worth.
It’s a legal procedure, done through the court system I think. So maybe contact your local Court and see if they can lead you to the right people.
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A quick web search has thrown up two links that may help -
How to change your name in Ontario -
http://www.canlaw.com/rights/namechange.htm
How to change your name in Illinois (see section 5) -
http://www.siu.edu/~lawsch/clinic/selfhelp/info/family/packets.htm
I never touched him, ref, honest!
actually, you can legally call yourself anything you want as long as you’re not representing yourself as someone for fraudulent purposes. when i worked as a private investigator, i carried 2 sets of identity. took a couple of months to build up, but not impossible.
to do it so that you purposely leave a paper trail, call your states attorney’s office to see if they have a form you fill in & file. stuff like this is so simple, you shouldn’t need an attorney. there will be a filing fee (maybe $250 or so) & you may actually have to go before a judge to state whatever reason you want to do the change.
when you have the filed, ok’d petition, you will have to start sending it (& maybe other papers requesting the name change) to places like social security, driver’s license, car registration, maybe your utilities & landlord. if you own property, you may need a lawyer to make a new deed of some sort showing change of name or just file the petition. it depends on what your method of property title guarantee is.
the link to the illinois rules is a good one. that covers the procedure generally. different entities may have their own forms they also want submitted.
My wife did this in California and here is what she did - she contacted legal aid at the local university and received a two page form, easy to fill out. Then she went and had it notorized ($10) - the only stipulation is that she must use the name for the next five years (that was seven years ago) - she changed her drivers license, her SSN, credit cards, library cards,m etc…Alot of court systems want you to use them so you can pay them the money, but…as the other responder said, you can use any name you want, so come up with a good one…
The worst thing that can possibly happen is not be used for something by someone - Kurt Vonnegut
As much as I love the Internet, I think I should caution you to not solely take the advice from other net users about this- if you are serious about changing your name, you should take the time to check with your city hall, or even just take a few books out from the library about it.
If you do decide to change your name, make sure you get everything squared with the DMV, too- I used to work for them in New York, and it was always a bitch to get things sorted out!
Toonces
well, mr. smartypants toonces, i sure wouldn’t recommend taking your advice. a name change will be handled in most states at the state level. people in any city hall will look at you funny because they won’t know a thing about it. you’re wasting your time & theirs.
get a book? get real. get a current pamphlet from the state. any book you get won’t cover every state or whatever current laws might be.
as for calling yourself anything you want, that comes from old english common law & applies across the country. however, because of how the speed & anonymity of the internet is changing our lives, there could be some states that are making changes that might affect that law, too. which is why you start at your local state level.
so there!
I legally changed my last name 7 years ago. I don’t remember all the details, but it cost me about $100 and took a couple months. Something like go to City Hall and get a form, place an ad in the newspaper for one month, have a hearing with a judge, then change all your records (driver’s license, credit cards, checks, etc.).
Since then, I have heard you can do it for free. Just start calling yourself whatever you want and change your records. Saves money.
Actually, special, city hall is the first place you should go, or at least to the courthouse in your local county seat, and visit the probate division. That’s where name changes are handled in most places.
Sheesh.
“It’s my considered opinion you’re all a bunch of sissies!”–Paul’s Grandfather
phil, city hall & the county courthouse/county seat are 2 different law groups, not at all related. probate can be county (in some places), state, or federal (altho you don’t need to do anything at that level). very unlikely it is handled at a city level in any jurisdiction–save maybe in wisconsin. but i would certainly demur to anyone who had actually done it already.
when i carried 3 sets of identification, one of the reasons i was able to get them was because of the common law. as i said, it is based on the idea that you can call yourself anything you want as long as that name isn’t used for purposes to defraud. but i would check at the state level nowadays because of current concern over internet fraud.
sheesh.
Special: My point about city hall was that if they didn’t handle the matter themselves, they would probably have a good idea of who can specifically help the person out. I’m sure more than a few people call them up about this type of thing…
My sister looked into doing this, and we were very surprised to find out about it. At least in Kansas, there is really no such thing as a ‘legal name change’. Basically, you use whatever name you want. If you want to use a different name, you start using it. Now, in order to avoid confusing situations with employers, the IRS and just about everyone else, it is a good idea to work with each agency and beauracracy that keeps track of you to get your name changed in their system. Each has provisions for doing this, they are all different and separate and some may or may not require any fees. I don’t see why you would go to the city hall or county magistrate or whatever unless this was required for changing the name on property deeds or on your driver’s license or something like that.
Sense I rent, I really have no legal connection with the city I live in. My only county connection has to do with my auto registration and license registration (and this is actually in a different county than I currently live in, because I’ve moved and its not necessary to change this registration).
Now, there are some limitations to this. For some records, you will have to indicate what names you have been known by in the past - for instance you cannot get a new birth certificate made, so you will have to maintain a trail to that certificate if you want to be able to prove that you are a US citizen. Generally the fact of changing the name on your drivers license and a record of this change would be sufficient.
For what it is worth, people change their names every day. There is nothing terribly special about a married woman changing her last name - she has to let everyone know just like someone who changed their name just cause they felt like it. There is no legal magic bullet that will make every beauracracy and corporation suddenly know who you are!
so it looks like we have a consensus! what a reasonable group.
I changed my name legally. It’s easy. Go to the DMV and tell them you want to change your name. They don’t require any kind of fancy paperwork. (I’m in CA too.) I spent $10 on a stupid notarized paper and NOT ONE AGENCY has ever asked to see it. Once you get the new driver’s license, take the new driver’s license and your old driver’s license down to the Social Security office and get a new Social Security card with your new name. Once you get that new SS card, start notifying everybody, credit cards, banks, whatever of your new name. They’ll want you to fax over some proof, so keep the old driver’s license and the old SS for a while, so you can show them you’re the same person. The only problem I’ve had is with my passport, because I didn’t go through a court, my passport has to list my old name as my main name with my new name as an AKA. After I’ve been known by this name for 5 years, then they’ll change it over.
SW
I changed my name in Maryland about eight years ago. The procedure was, I had to type up a bunch of forms (which I’m sure I now could download off the internet), submit them to my county courthouse along with the filing fee, and place an ad in a local paper for about five days. After which I received a court order with my change of name.
Now, I know, and I knew then, that all of this wasn’t necessary, and that I could have simply changed it - but I’d do it the same way again. I was asked by DMV, the bank, the registrar’s office at my university, and the US passport agency to show my court order. I could have told them I didn’t have to have one, and we could have argued about it for awhile, but having that piece of paper was so much easier. Just because you have the right to do it without a court order doesn’t mean everyone you deal with is going to realize this, you know. The hassle saved by being able to show a court order has been absolutely worth the (really) minor hassle of going through the courts … to me, anyway.