Posts tagged ‘legal name change’
update: DIY name change in Tennessee
I posted a while back about how you can easily DIY a legal name change in Tennessee – and how the clerk and master’s office in Williamson County gives you the pleading templates to do so. See that post HERE.
I just learned that this particular jurisdiction has changed the local process a bit. First, the court no longer requires a hearing on name change petitions. You file a petition along with the order granting the change – the judge considers only these documents, and decides whether to enter the order (or not, apparently). (Previously – and in most Tennessee jurisdictions – the court required a hearing, where the person seeking a name change appeared in court and gave sworn testimony as to why he/she was seeking the change.)
AND – this is important – you have to file the following in addition to the petition: a copy of your photo ID (establishing your identity and current legal name), a copy of a recent utility (e.g. phone, electric) statement (UNLESS your photo ID includes your current address – in order to establish you live in the court’s jurisdiction) and a copy of your birth certificate.
None of this information is available unless you go to the clerk’s office and try to file a name change petition, which isn’t very helpful to those doing it themselves. Name changes are simple, non-adversary proceedings that absolutely do not require an attorney. Our system should make it easy for folks to do it themselves.
DIY Name Change in Tennessee
If you live in Williamson County, Tennessee, the Chancery Court Clerk and Master has made it easy for you to navigate the legal name-change process without an attorney’s assistance. This makes a lot of sense, because the process is very straightforward, not technical, not adversarial and doesn’t require much work to accomplish.
Perhaps you’re divorced and didn’t change your name at the time because you had young children and wanted to keep the same name. Your children may now be grown, and you’d like to reclaim your maiden name (or pick another one!). In Tennessee, you can change your name for any reason – or no reason at all – as long as you meet the legal requirements for a name change.
What are the requirements? According to the relevant law (Tennessee Code § 29-8-101 et seq.), you can petition for a legal name change only if:
•You have NOT been convicted of first or second degree murder or any offense requiring sexual offender registration; and
•you do NOT have a desire or intention to mislead any present or potential creditors, and that you will not use the name change for fraudulent purposes.
It’s easy to DIY your legal name change: go to the Chancery Court Clerk and Master’s office website here http://www.williamsoncounty-tn.gov/index.aspx?nid=245. You can access contact information for the clerk’s office, as well as a form for the Petition for Name Change .
Please see the following post for updated information about name change petitions filed in Williamson County: update: DIY name change in Tennessee.
Currently filing fees for a name change petition in Williamson County are $190.50.
If you have any questions about a legal name change in Tennessee, feel free to contact me at cnm@csquaredlaw.com, or 615.656.4044.
