Fill and Sign the Name Change Instructions and Forms Package for an Adult Maryland

Prepared by U.S. Legal Forms, Inc. Copyright 2016 - U.S. Legal Forms, Inc. STATE OF MARYLAND NAME CHANGE ADULT PACKET Control Number – MD-00001 This packet contains the following: 1. Instructions ; 2. Forms List ; and 3. Access to Maryland Law Summary. I. EXPLANATION OF PETITION FOR CHANGE OF NAME A. In Maryland, an action for a court ordered Change of Name begins with the fling of a Petition For Change of Name in the Circuit court. A Notice of the requested name change must be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which you reside unless the Court grants a waiver of publication or permits an alternative method of giving notice such as posting in the courthouse. The Clerk of the court will arrange for publication after you have fled. After the Notice has been published, other persons are given the opportunity to object. If someone objects, that person must fle an objection and send a copy of the objection to you. You will have 15 days to respond to the objection by fling a written response with the Court. If you want the court to hold a hearing on the objection, you must fle a Request for Hearing or Proceeding with your response. B. The forms in this packet include the necessary information for an Adult Name Change in the State of Maryland. C. You can use this packet if: ► You are at last 18 years of age and have been a resident of the county in which you will fle for the required amount of time as reflected in the law summary. ► You have proper and reasonable cause for the requested change of name. ► You may not use these forms to change a name in connection with an adoption or a divorce. ► You may not use these forms to change a name in connection with an adoption or a divorce. ► You are not changing your name to avoid debts or defraud creditors. II. WHAT FORMS ARE INCLUDED A. Civil Domestic Case Information Report – (MD-NC-101) a case tracking form required by most Maryland courts. B. Petition for Change of Name - (MD-NC-102) This document states the reasons and other required details for your name change. C. Notice - (MD-NC-103) Notice that your Petition for Change of Name has been fled and the matter has been set for hearing. This should be published in the newspaper prior to the hearing. D. Certifcate of Publication – (MD-NC-104) form used by the newspaper to provide sworn afrmation that publication of the notice was made as required. E. Order for Change of Name - (MD-NC-105) This is the fnal statement of the legalities and terms of your name change. Once this form is signed by the Judge and fled with the court, the name change is efective. In some counties, the Court will permit the Petitioner to fle the following forms involving posting Notice of the Name Change at the Courthouse and save the expense of publishing in a local newspaper. F. Motion to Post in Lieu of Publication – (MD-NC-106) allows posting of the Notice at the courthouse which will save the cost of publication. G. Order to Post in Lieu of Publication – (MD-NC-107) order granting motion to post. 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. Note: This package contains forms for use throughout your State. However, some Counties, or Judges may require a diferent form, or modifcation to these forms. If this happens, please consult with your local Court Clerk. If you are required to use additional forms, please advise us by sending an e-mail message to orders@uslegalforms.com. III. PROCEDURE FOR CHANGE OF NAME (ADULT) FOR THE STATE OF MARYLAND 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. Attach to the documents to be fled with the court, a copy of your birth certifcate or other document reflecting your current name (the one you want to change from ). 4. Print three (3) complete sets of forms. 3 5. 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 fling. 6. 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 – frst name, middle name, and last name. 7. When a form is fled with the court, request the clerk “fle- stamp” one copy of the form for your fle. 8. 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 1 - Completion of the Petition for Change of Name (Adult), Notice for Publication and Order for Change of Name A. Fill out the Petition for Change of Name, as indicated. B. Sign the Petition. C. Fill out the top section and frst paragraph of the Notice for Publication. Leave the second paragraph blank. D. Fill out the Order for Change of Name, except for the date and Judge’s signature. STEP 2 - Attachment of Birth Certifcate Attach to the documents to be fled with the court, a copy of your birth certifcate or other document reflecting your current name (the one you want to change from ). STEP 3 - Filing of Documents File the above documents with the Clerk of the court at the circuit court for the county in which you reside. Pay the fling fee. The Clerk of the court will send the Notice for Publication to the newspaper for publication. STEP 4 - Pay for the Publication of the Notice The newspaper will send you an invoice to have the Notice published. You are required to pay this invoice. Publication can be expensive. After the 4 Notice has been published you and the Clerk will be sent a confrmation from the newspaper. STEP 5 - Consideration of Petition and Issuance of Order After the Clerk receives the confrmation from the newspaper, they will send your Petition to a judge. The judge will review all of the information. If someone has contested the name change or if the judge has any questions about your petition, then a hearing may be scheduled. (Remember to respond to any objection within 15 days after you receive it and include a Request for Hearing or Proceeding if you want the court to hold a hearing on the objection). If no one has contested the change, and everything has been done properly, then the judge will usually sign the Order for Name Change. You will receive a certifed copy of the Order in the mail, and, for a small fee, you may obtain additional certifed copies of the Order from the Clerk. You will need to use a certifed copy of the Order for Name Change to change your name at the Motor Vehicle Administration (you may need other identifcation for this), the Bureau of Vital Statistics, Social Security Administration, creditors, etc. Step 6 – Notifcation of government agencies, Businesses and individuals of the legal change in you name. To assist you in completing the name change process, we ofer an extensive package containing forms and instructions for notifying government agencies and others of a name change. Forms and instructions included for Passport, Social Security Card, Voter Registration, Employer, Banks and other Financial Institutions, Clubs and Organizations, Drivers License, Post Ofce, Insurance Companies, IRS, State Tax Commission, etc. It also contains forms for changing contracts, wills and other legal documents. The package is entitled “Name Change Notifcation Package for Brides, Court Ordered Name Change, Divorced, and Marriage for Maryland.” It can be previewed and ordered at: http://www.uslegalforms.com/md/MD-9087.htm 5 NOTES ON COMPLETING THESE FORMS The form(s) in this packet contain “form felds” created using Microsoft Word. “Form felds” 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. It is also helpful to be able to see the location of the form felds. Go to 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 felds will be visible. In order to use the form felds properly, it is necessary to “lock or protect” the document. If you wish to make any changes in the body of the form, it is necessary for you “unlock” or “unprotect” the form. This is done by clicking 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 . It is very important to understand that, once the document is unprotected, any data entered in the form felds will be lost when the document is again protected. If changes are necessary, unlock the document, using the password “uslf” if necessary, and make any changes that you feel are required. Then protect the document once again. After any required changes and re-protecting the document, click on the frst form feld and enter the required information. You will be able to navigate through the document from form feld to form feld using your tab key. Tab to a form feld and insert your data. Inserting date will result in the default line disappearing. You will have sufcient space to enter any required information. 6 LAW SUMMARY The law summary for this package may be located and printed from the following address: http://www.uslegalforms.com/md/MD-00001.htm 7 DISCLAIMER These materials were developed by U.S. Legal Forms, Inc. based upon statutes and forms for the State of Maryland. 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 efect 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 ofered 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. 8