Fill and Sign the Name Change Packet Indiana Legal Services Form

Prepared by U.S. Legal Forms, Inc. Copyright 201 6 - U.S. Legal Forms, Inc. STATE OF INDIANA NAME CHANGE ADULT - PACKET Control Number – IN -NAME -1 I. EXPLANATION OF PETITION FOR CHANGE OF NAME A. In Indiana, an action for a court ordered Change of Name begins with the filing of a Petition in the Circuit Court. The Petition must contain certain information. The forms in this packet include t he necessary information for an Adult Name Change in the State of Indiana. B. You can use this packet if: ► You are at least 18 years of age; ► You are not in jail or prison; ► You have not been convicted of a felony in the lat ten years; ► 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. Appearance by Self -Represented Person in Civil Case – (IN -NC -101) Form that established the details relating to the Petitioner – name, address, phone, etc. B. Verified Petition for Change of Name – (IN -NC -102) This document states the reasons and other required details for your name change. C. Notice of Petition for Name Change – (IN -NC -103) This is the form used by the Court to officially set the Petition for hearing. D. Affidavit of Publication – (IN -NC -104) This form provides proof of publication of the Notice of Filing and is completed by an employee of the newspaper. Some newspapers will have their own form and the form may carry a different title such as “Proof of Publication”. In such cases form IN -NC -104 may be discarded. E. Notice of Filing Proof of Publication – (IN -NC -105) After receipt of the Affidavit of Publication , or other proof of publication , the Petitioner uses this form to file with the court the Affidavit or Proof of Publication with attached copies of the Notice of Petition for Name Change . F. Order on Verified Petition for Change of Name – (IN -NC -106) This is the final ruling of the court approving the requested name change. Once this form is signed by the Judge and filed with the court, the name change is effective. If you did not order a co mpletion 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, o r Judges may require a different form, or modification 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 to orders@uslegalforms.com. III. PROCEDURE FOR CHANGE OF NAME (ADULT) FOR THE STATE OF INDIANA. 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 as many complete sets of the forms as needed. NOTE: It is recommended that you check with the clerk of the circuit court to determine the number of copies required by the court. At the same time it is suggested you ask the clerk whether name changes are filed in the circuit court, which is customary, or in another court, which is the practice in some counties. 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 “Case No.” will be provided 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 the end of this package and select the Law Summary link under the form title and print. Review th e Law Summary before beginning the process of completing the forms. B. Procedure Step 1: Complete all the forms using complete names – middle names instead of middle initials. Step 2: Take the originals and the copies of the Appearance and the Verified Petition for Change of Name to the proper Court Clerk in the county where you live. The clerk will file stamp the forms, keep the originals and necessary copies, and hand back the rest of the copies to you. Step 3: There will be a filing fee in most counties. The Clerk will instruct you where to pay the filing fee and the appropriate amount. Step 4: Contact a newspaper in the county where you live and make arrangements to publish a legal notice of your change of n ame. Give a copy of the forms you filed with the Clerk to this newspaper. The notice must be published once a week for three weeks. Keep track of the notices when they are published. Keep a copy of the newspaper every time your notice appears in them. Fill out the Affidavit of Publication with the dates your notice was published. Take the Affidavit of Publication (Form 4) to the newspaper and ask them to verify publication. They will need to sign this document. Some will prepare a Notice of Publication for you to give to the Court. Step 5: You must wait at least thirty (30) days after the last date of publication before you file proof with the Court. Take the originals and copies of the Notice of Filing Proof of Publication and Request for Hearing, the Affi davit of Publication, the Notice of Hearing, and any other documents the newspaper gives you back to the Court for filing. In some cases the clerk will notify you of the hearing date by mail so be sure and take a self -addressed and stamped envelope with yo u. Step 6: At the hearing, any persons objecting to the requested Name Change will be heard by the Court; and the Court may examine, under oath, the Petitioner(s) or other persons concerning the Petition. You should be prepared to explain to the court t he reasons you want the name change and that it is not to avoid creditors or for any other improper purpose. Step 6: If the Court is satisfied as to (1) the truth of the allegations contained in the Petition; (2) that the required Notice has been publishe d; and, (3) that there is a reasonable and proper basis for the requested change of name, the Court will issue the Order of Name Change. NOTE: Now that the Order has been signed, it is your responsibility to inform government agencies, your employer, you r creditors, and other interested agencies and businesses of your new name. 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 sel ect 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, plea se let us know. LAW SUMMARY You may access the law summary by going to this URL address: http://www.uslegalforms.com/in/IN -NAME -1.htm DISCLAIMER These materials were developed by U.S. Legal Forms, Inc. based upon statutes and forms for the State of Indiana. 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 sugge st 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. 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