California Name Change Family Packet

STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Name Change Family Packet

Prepared by U.S. Legal Forms, Inc.

Copyright 2016 - U.S. Legal Forms, Inc.

Control Number – CA-NAME-3

This packet contains the following:

1. Instructions;

2. Forms List; and

3. Access to California Law Summary.

I. EXPLANATION OF PETITION FOR CHANGE OF NAME

A. In California, an action for a court ordered Change of Name begins with the filing of a Petition in the Superior court. The Petition must contain certain information. The forms in this packet include the necessary information for a Family Name Change in the State of California.

B. You can use this packet if:

► You are a resident in the county in which the Petition will be filed.

► You have proper and reasonable cause for the requested change of name.

► You are not changing your name and those of your family members to avoid debts or defraud creditors.

II. WHAT FORMS ARE INCLUDED

A. Form CA-CM-10-LA - Civil Cover Sheet

B. Form - CIV-109-03-04 - Civil Case Cover Sheet Addendum

C. Form NC-100-LA - Petition for Change of Name

D. Form NC-110-LA - Name and Information About the Person Whose Name is to be Changed

E. Form NC-102-LA - Criminal History Assessment Form

F. Form NC-120-LA - Order to Show Cause for Change of Name

G. Form NC-121-LA - Proof of Service of Order to Show Cause

H. Form NC-130-LA - Decree Changing Name

• Form NC-101-LA - Proof of Service by Personal Service (Name Change) - This form is not included in the package. Please request it if needed.

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 (FAMILY) FOR THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

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. Print three (3) complete sets of forms.

4. All forms with a heading - the name of the court, the Petitioner’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 - first 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 where you located 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 1: The petition for change of name must be filed in the superior court in the county where the person whose name is to be changed presently lives. The petition may be used to change one's own name and, under certain circumstances, the names of others (e.g., children under 18 years of age).

Step 2: Prepare an original and two copies of each of the following documents:

a. Petition for Change of Name (Form NC-100-LA).

b. Name and Information About the Person Whose Name Is to Be Changed (Form NC-110-LA) (One for each Petitioner - attach as many copies as necessary)

c. Criminal History Assessment Form (complete one for each adult petitioner) (Form NC-102-LA)

d. Order to Show Cause for Change of Name (Form NC-120-LA).

e. Proof of Service of Order to Show Cause-used to establish that a person was served with a copy of the order to show cause. (Form NC-121-LA)

f. Decree Changing Name (Form NC-130-LA or, for guardians, Form NC-130G).

In addition, if the petition is filed by a guardian and not a parent, the guardian must prepare and attach a Declaration of Guardian (Form NC-110G) for each child whose name is to be changed.

Step 3: Prepare an original Civil Case Cover Sheet and Addendum for Los Angeles County. File the original petition and the Civil Case Cover Sheets with the clerk of the court and obtain two filed-endorsed copies of the petition. A filing fee will be charged unless you qualify for a fee waiver. (if you want to apply for a fee waiver, see Application for Waiver of Court Fees and Costs (Form 982(a)(17)); Information Sheet on Waiver of Court Fees and Costs (Form 982(a)(17)(A)); and Order on Application for Waiver of Court Fees and Costs (Form 982(a)(18).)

Step 4: You should request a date for the hearing on the Order to Show Cause at least six weeks in the future.

NOTE: CALIFORNIA STATUTES REQUIRES A HEARING ONLY IN THOSE CASES WHERE THERE ARE OBJECTIONS TO THE NAME CHANGE FILED OR REGISTERED WITH THE COURT. ALSO, THE COURT MAY REQUIRE A HEARING DUE TO THE PARTICULAR INDIVIDUAL FACTS CONTAINED IN YOUR FORMS.

IF THERE IS A NON-PARTY PARENT OF A MINOR PETITIONER WHO FILES AN OBJECTION, THERE WILL GENERALLY BE A HEARING. THE NON-PARTY PARENT MAY ALSO HAVE THEIR STANDING CHALLENGED IF THEY ARE NOT IN FULL COMPLIANCE WITH THE DIVORCE DECREE REGARDING CHILD SUPPORT AND DO NOT VISIT OR INTERACT WITH THE MINOR AS A PARENT.

AS A GENERAL RULE, IF THERE ARE NO OBJECTIONS, THE ORDER WILL BE SIGNED BY THE COURT. YOU WILL BE ADVISED WHETHER A HEARING IS NECESSARY BY THE CLERK OF THE COURT.

Step 5: After the hearing date has been included and you have obtained a judge's signature on the Order to Show Cause, file the original order in the clerk's office and obtain filed-endorsed copies of the order.

Step 6: A copy of the Order to Show Cause must be published in a local newspaper of general circulation once a week for at least four consecutive weeks before the date of the hearing on the name change petition. The petitioner selects the newspaper from among those newspapers legally qualified to publish orders and notices. The newspaper used must file a Proof of Publication with the superior court before the hearing. If no newspaper of general circulation is published in the county, the court may order the Order to Show Cause to be posted by the clerk.

Step 7: Bring copies of all documents to the hearing. If the judge grants the name change petition, the judge will sign the original decree.

Step 8: After the decree is signed, you should obtain at least two certified copies of the decree from the clerk's office. The clerk will charge a fee for the certification. Pursuant to Section Code of Civil Procedure 12179, a certified copy of the decree of the Court changing the name of person SHALL be filed in the Office of the Secretary of State, Special Filing Unit, P.O. Box 944225, Sacramento, CA 94244-2250, within thirty (30) days from the date that the decree is issued. The fee is $10. One certified copy of the decree must then be filed with the county clerk where the person lives within thirty (30) days after the date of the decree changing the person's name. The county clerk will charge a fee for filing the certified copy.

Step 9: If you want to amend a birth certificate to show the name change, you should contact the following office:

Department of Health Services

Office of Vital Records

304 "S" Street

Sacramento, CA 95814

Local courts may supplement these instructions. Check with the court to determine whether supplemental information is available. For instance, the court may provide you with additional written information about what department handles name change petitions, when petitions are heard, and which newspapers may be used to publish the Order to Show Cause.

NOTE: THE CALIFORNIA STATUTES REGARDING NAME CHANGE REQUIRE THE COURT USE THE CALIFORNIA LAW ENFORCEMENT TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM (CLETS) AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE INFORMATION SYSTEM (CJIS) TO DETERMINE IF THE PERSON(S) WHOSE NAME IS BEING CHANGED IS WITHIN THE JURISDICTION OF THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS OR HAS A CRIMINAL RECORD.

IN THE PAST THE PROCEDURE IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY HAS BEEN FOR A FORM TO BE SUBMITTED BY THE ADULT PETITIONER AND THE RECORDS CHECK IS PERFORMED BY THE LOCAL PROBATION DEPARTMENT. THIS FORM IS STILL INCLUDED AS PART OF THE ADULT NAME CHANGE PACKAGE. AS OF THIS DATE THE PROCEDURE FOR CRIMINAL RECORDS CHECK IS SOMEWHAT BEING CHANGED AND IS SOMEWHAT UNSETTLED.

WHEN YOU FILE THE FORMS, THE CLERK OF THE COURT WILL DIRECT YOU AS TO HOW YOU WILL NEED TO PROCEED TO SATISFY THE RECORDS CHECK REQUIREMENT.

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 your “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/ca/CA-9087.htm

God 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 limit 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 button and the form fields will be visible.

The forms are locked which means that the content of the forms cannot 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 necessary 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 “unprotect 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

The law summary for this package may be located and printed from the following address:

http://www.uslegalforms.com/ca/CA-NAME-3.htm

DISCLAIMER

These materials were developed by U.S. Legal Forms, Inc. based upon statutes and forms for the State of California. All Information and Forms are subject to this Disclaimer: All forms in this package are provided without any warranty, express or implied, as to their legal effect and completeness. Please use at your own risk. If you have a serious legal problem we suggest that you consult an attorney. U.S. Legal Forms, Inc. does not provide legal advice. The products offered by U.S. Legal Forms (USLF) are not a substitute for the advice of an attorney.

THESE MATERIALS ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY OF ANY KIND INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, NONINFRINGEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL U. S. LEGAL FORMS, INC. OR ITS AGENTS OR OFFICERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF INFORMATION) ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE MATERIALS, EVEN IF U.S. LEGAL FORMS, INC. HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

Form Completion Fields

Petitioner Name:

Court Name:

Case Number:

Effective Date:

Current Name:

Proposed New Name:

County:

Address:

Additional Information:

Checklist

Resident in filing county

Has proper and reasonable cause

Not changing name to avoid debts or defraud creditors

Hearing required / objection filed