Fill and Sign the Legal Name Change in Cook County Form

Prepared by U.S. Legal Forms, Inc. Copyright 2016 - U.S. Legal Forms, Inc. STATE OF ILLINOIS NAME CHANGE ADULT PACKET Control Number – IL -NAME-1 [Cook County, IL] This packet contains the following: 1. Instructions; 2. Forms List; and 3. Access to Illinois Law Summary. I. EXPLANATION OF PETITION FOR CHANGE OF NAME A. In Illinois, an action for a court ordered Change of Name begins wit h the filing of a Petition in the Circuit Court. The Petition must contain certain information. The forms in this packet include the necessary information for an Adult Name Change in the State of Illinois. B. You can use this packet if: ► You are at least 18 years of age and have been a resident of the county in which you will file for the required amount of time a s reflected in the law summary. ► You have proper and reasonable cause for the requested change of name. ► You are not changing your name to avoid debts or defraud creditors. II. WHAT FORMS ARE INCLUDED A. Chancery Division Civil Cover Sheet – (IL- NC-100) This form requests required information for the Court’s use. B. Petition – (IL- NC-101) This document states the reasons and other required details for your name change. It also includes the Affidavit that contains verification of the petition from someone other than the petitioner. C. Notice of Publication – (IL- NC-103) Notice that your Petition has been filed and the matter has been set for hearing. This should be published in the newspaper prior to the hearing. D. Judgment for Change of Name – (IL- NC-104) This is the final statement of the legalities and terms of your name change. Once this form is signed by the Judge and filed with the court, the name chan ge is effective. If you did not order a completion package and need access to the download page again for any of the above forms, please check your email for a link to that will redisplay the page for you. III. PROCEDURE FOR CHANGE OF NAME (ADULT) FOR THE STATE OF ILLINOIS A. Preliminary Note: 1. The attached forms may be completed by: a. Printing the forms and completing by hand. Use black ink and print neatly. b. Printing the forms and completing using a typewriter. c. By completing the forms on your computer using a word processing program and then printing the forms. 2. Use complete names and not initials. Check your spelling carefully, a misspelled word can delay your name change. 3. After the forms are completed, print three (3) complete sets of forms. 4. All forms with a heading – the name of the court, the Petition er’s name, the case number, and the name of the document – require that the heading be completed. You will need to add the name of the court and the full name of the Petitioner. The “Action/Cause No.” will be assigned by the court clerk at the time of filing. 5. Forms that require your signature and include a notary block MUST be signed in the presence of the notary or court clerk who will complete the acknowledgement. Use your complete name – firs t name, middle name, last name. 6. When a form is filed with the court, request the clerk “file - stamp” one copy of the form for your file. 7. A Law Summary is available and can be printed for your State. To do so, go to the end of this package and select the Law Summary link under the form title and print. Review the Law Summary before beginning the process of completing the forms. B. Procedure Step One: The initial question in filing a name change action in Cook i s whether you will file downtown at Daley Center or in one of t he suburban branch courts. Five major suburban areas contain court locations for the Cook County Judicial District: Skokie, Rolling Meadows, Maywood, Bridgeview, and Markham. You may file at any of the courts without concern for where you reside. The general procedure is the same for all the suburban locations in the sense that the overall steps – obtain return date, publish notice, file Petition, and Hearing - are the same Step Two: Next you will need to select a “return date.” This is the day on which a hearing on an action or proceeding (such as a motion) is to be held. You will need to check with court personnel in Daley Center and they will direct you to the appropriate office where you can obtain the return date. Generally the return date will be dictated by the first available date for the hearing that is convenient and gives you sufficient time to make the required publication. The return date is then added to the Notice of Publication. The return date must be at least six weeks after publication of the notice. Therefore, in order to allow for unanticipated delays in completing the required publication, select a date at least 8 weeks in the future. Step Three: Once you have the return date, you have to publish the Notice. The chancery clerk’s office will refer you to a newspaper that will publish the Notice of Publication. At the Cook County Chancery Court – Daley Center, the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin maintains a desk in room 1303. In the branch courts you will be referred to a newspaper. There will be a fee for the publication. The amount varies with the newspaper. The fee is payable in advance by cash, personal check, or credit card. You have the option of publishing at any newspaper that is qualified to public legal notices in Cook County. Step Four: The Certificate of Publication is provided by the newspaper an d will generally be sent directly to the petitioner after the fin al required publication. Some newspapers may require the petitioner pick it up at the newspaper. The petitioner should verify with the newspaper how they handle the Certificate of Publication. Once the Certificate of Publication is received it is time to prepare for the return day. Step Five: The next thing is to complete the Petition, Affidavit and Order and make two copies of each form. Step Six: On the date of return, you will need to go to the Clerk’s office and file the Petition, Affidavit and Certificate of Publication. You will need to pay the filing fee of approximately $2 94. The filing fee will vary a bit from court to court. The Petitioner can call the Chancery Court Clerks office and determine the exact fee. Once the fee is paid and the forms filed, the clerk will assign you to a courtroom. Step Seven: Next go to the courtroom and wait for your case to be called. Take a seat in the audience section of the courtroom until your case is called. When your case is called, stand up, announce your presence to the judge, and say that you are representing yourself. When the judge indicates, walk to the podium. Occasionally, the judge may ask that the Petitioner be sworn in to testify from the witness stand about the information in your Petition. Always address the judge as "Your Honor." Be courteous to all court personnel. Answer any questions from the judge. Tell the judge that you have been a county resident for 6 months year immediately before filing the petition, and the reasons you want to change your name. Also, tell the judge that no one else will be affected by your name change. If someone will be affected, tell what that impact will be. Be prepared to tell the judge about any court cases in which you are involved, and whether you are on probation or parole. If everything is proper and there is good cause for changing your name, the judge will announce this at the end of the hearing. After the judge makes a decision, the judge will sign the Order you have prepared. Step Eight: You should obtain sufficient certified copies of the Order to make the necessary changes in your name in official records, etc. CHECKLIST OF SUGGESTED PLACES TO CONTACT AS A RESULT OF YOUR NAME CHANGE *ILLINOIS DEPT. OF PUBLIC HEALTH Division of Vital Records 605 W. Jefferson St. Springfield, IL 62702 -5097 (217) 782 -6553 Fax: (217) 523- 2648 *SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION *ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES Driver’s License/Deputy Registrar TAX AUTHORITIES FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS Banks/Credit Cards/Mortgages UTILITIES CREDITORS PHYSICIANS AND DENTISTS MEDICAL/HEALTH INSURANCE CARRIER LIFE INSURANCE CARRIER PENSION FUND ADMINISTRATOR BOARD OF ELECTIONS BUREAU OF SUPPORT SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND OTHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS BOARD OF CERTIFICATION U.S. CITIZENSHIPAND IMMIGRATION SERVICE EMPLOYER CHURCH LIBRARY * WILL REQUIRE A CERTIFIED COPY OF THE ENTRY CHANGING NAME NOTE: YOUR INDIVIDUAL SITUATION MAY REQUIRE YOU TO NOTIFY ADDITIONAL ORGANIZATIONS. IN MOST INSTANCES, PHOTOCOPIES WILL BE ACCEPTABLE. NOTIFICATION OF YOUR NAME CHANGE Now that you have completed the name change process and received your Order, Judgment or Decree of Name Change, it is very important that you immediately notify the necessary government agencies, business entities and individuals of you r “new” name. To assist in this process, we have prepared a comprehensive “name change notification package” for your state. To “Preview” and order this package, please use the following link: http://www.uslegalforms.com/il/IL-9087.htm Go od Luck with your new name! If we may be of assistance in the future, please contact Customer Service: 1-(877) 389 -0141 - 8:30-5:00 Central Time Zone or http://www.uslegalforms.com/help/ NOTE ABOUT COMPLETING THE FORMS The forms in this packet contain “form fields” created using Microsoft Word. “Form fields” facilitate completion of the forms using your computer. They do not l imit you ability to print the form “in blank” and complete with a typewriter or by hand If you do not see the gray shaded form fields, go the View menu, click on Toolbars, and then select Forms. This will open the forms toolbar. Look for the button on the forms toolbar that resembles a shaded letter “a”. Click in this bu tton and the form fields will be visible. The forms are locked which means that the content of the forms canno t be changed. You can only fill in the information in the fields. If you need to make any changes in the body of the form, it is necessar y for you “unlock” or “unprotect” the form. IF YOU INTEND TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE CONTENT, DO SO BEFORE YOU BEGIN TO FILL IN THE FIELDS. IF YOU UNLOCK THE DOCUMENT AFTER YOU HAVE BEGUN TO COMPLETE THE FIELDS, WHEN YOU RELOCK, ALL INFORMATION YOU ENTERED WILL BE LOST. To unlock click on “Tools” in the Menu bar and then selecting “un protect document”. You may then be prompted to enter a password. If so, the password is “uslf”. That is uslf in lower case letters without the quotation marks . After you make the changes relock the document before you being to complete the fields. After any required changes and re-protecting the document, click on the first form field and enter the required information. You will be able to navigate through the document from form field to form field using your tab key. Tab to a form field and insert your data. If problems, please let us know. LAW SUMMARY You may access the law summary by going to this URL address: http://www.uslegalforms.com/il/IL-NAME-1.htm DISCLAIMER These materials were developed by U.S. Legal Forms, Inc. based upon statutes and forms for the State of Illinois. All Information and Forms are subject to this Disclaimer: All forms in this package are provided without any warranty, expr ess or implied, as to their legal effect and completeness. Please use at your o wn risk. 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