I’m looking at the forms for the Virginia name change petition and court order, and at the top right of each form there’s a space to be filled in that says “Civil No._____.”
I could just get a lawyer to fill it out and submit it for me, but thought maybe I could do this on the cheap… and I’m trying to figure out if I can do it all on my own. Seems simple enough… except what do I put for “Civil No.”? Or leave it blank?
You ought to at least get a book out of the library. Seriously. The case number is generally the easy part. The Civil Number is generally assigned by the court clerk when you file the petition. You don’t have a case number until the case is filed.
Probably you should leave it blank and let the clerk assign you the number when you pay your filing fee and file the petition.
Disclaimer: I don’t know a thing about Virginia procedure. I’m not your attorney, you get what you pay for, etc.
That’s what I guessed… but needed to make sure first. Any other form would clearly demarcate the space to be filled in by some functionary instead of you. But for some reason in this instance they couldn’t be bothered. Thanks!
Its assigned by the Clerk of the Court and is used by them to track the case. Leave it blank. The clerk will assign a law number (civil case number) to it when they receive the petition.
I assume you are looking at the name change forms available at the Fairfax Circuit Court Clerk’s website correct? They have a sample form and order available online. Make sure to follow the instructions in the booklet.
That’s the one.
Thanks to everyone for the answers.
Good luck with the Petition.
From what I’ve seen, they usually get granted pretty easily. You don’t even have to appear in Court most of the time. Fairfax is rather bureaucratic though so make sure that you have enough copies for them and an extra for you.