I have filed for a name change for my minor daughter in York County,
Virginia.  Everything has been done including notification to the
other parent via newspaper, and I am just awaiting the filing of the
Order.

The Judge sent me a letter stating the Order has not been entered yet
"because your Petition shows Petitioner as (Mother's Name - i.e., me)
and is styled as: 'In the Matter of the Application of (Mother's
Name), natural Mother of the minor child (Daughter's Name).'"

He seems to be saying that the styling is wrong.  If the styling IS
improper, how do I fix it?

FYI, the Petition says:

         In the Matter of The Application of
         (my name),
         natural Mother of the minor child
         (her name)
         for the change of name of her minor child

Then it goes on to name me as Petitioner, and the bio dad Respondent.


The next paragraph of the Judge?s letter reads, "In the case of a
minor child, the petitioner's 'next friend' may make application for a
name change. A motion and order are needed to amend your petition to
show that application is made by the child's parent and next friend.'"

(By "motion," does he mean "petition?")

Virginia Code 8.01-217 says "In case of a minor who has no living
parent or guardian, the application may be made by his next friend,"
(that is the only reference I see to Next Friend), so I don't see how
it applies here.

Thank you for helping me figure out what I have done wrong here, and
how to rectify it.

Greeting Mykidzmom,

On your form, it could be interpreted that while you *are* the natural
birth mother, you are NOT the minor's legal guardian (as in you had
given up the child for adoption).  I believe what the court wants to
see is that you are the legal guardian/parent of the child, as that
would be the only petitioner that could *legally* apply for a name
change for the minor.  It may be that by simply amending your wording
to "natural mother and legal guardian of minor child" is sufficient. 
Or simply amend the document you've already provided with an addendum
of the legal VA form.

Here is the offcial Virgina document:
http://www.courts.state.va.us/forms/circuit/cc_1427_0505.pdf

Here is the text of the Virginia law regarding name change for a minor:
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+8.01-217

This is from an official Virginia court site:
"How do I change my name if I am a minor? 
"To change the name of a minor, one or both of the legal parents may
petition the circuit court for the city/county in which you live. The
petition must be made under oath and state the place of residence of
the minor, the names of both parents, including the maiden name of the
mother, the date and place of birth of the minor, the minor's felony
conviction record, if any, whether the minor is presently incarcerated
or a probationer with any court, and if the minor has previously
changed their name, those former names must be listed. Also, the
applicant must affirm that the name change is not sought with any
fraudulent intent and that the name change is in the best interest of
the minor. A filing fee must be paid at time the petition is filed.
Both legal parents must agree to the proposed name change. If only one
parent files the petition, notice must be given for the other parent
to respond at a hearing before the court. The name change does not
terminate any legal parental rights."
http://www.courts.state.va.us/faq/misc.html


In addition, I located other, slightly different forms from a
non-official VA site, and I wanted to include these forms too.

You may view these form (copy and paste them for printing) at
http://www.ilrg.com/forms/namechange-minor/us/va  The petition has
slightly different wording that your petition (and that of the
official one above).

There you will see a Consent to Change of Name of Minor form as well
as the Petition for Change of Name of Minor form.  It appears that
using both forms (consent attached to petition) may be an accepted
legal process.  The Consent is to be completed by the minor.


Please remember that I am not an attorney, and my answer consists of
research, not legal advice.  Also, please note the disclaimer at the
bottom of this page which reads in part "Important Disclaimer: Answers
and comments provided on Google Answers are general information, and
are not intended to substitute for informed professional medical,
psychiatric, psychological, tax, legal, investment, accounting, or
other professional advice."


Should you require any clarification of my answer, please request it
and I will be happy to respond.

Best regards,
journalist-ga


SEARCH STRATEGY:

name change for minor court petition Virginia
name change for minor petition consent Virginia
Virginia law name change minor
Virginia Code§ 8.01-217
CC-1427 Virginia law

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Request for Answer Clarification by mykidzmom-ga on 01 Aug 2005 11:26 PDT

While I get what you said about legal guardian, I need clarification.  

The Judge referenced "... because your Petition ... is styled as ..." 
 I need to know if it is correct that I am listed as Petitioner, and
that it says "In the Matter of The Application of (me) ..."

The official Virginia form lets you pick only one -- Mother, Father,
Guardian, Next Friend, or Other.

Despite the fact that I am Mother, and maybe judges can't assume that
is legal guardian these days, it concerns me that the Judge brought in
the Next Friend matter.  I really need guidance on if he did so
because I did something wrong, ie, screwed up something in the
styling, or what, before resubmitting to the court.


Your name says Journalist -- do you have a legal background?  I was
hoping for an attorney / legal type to give me a feel for why a Judge
may reference Next Friend, which is why I filed the question under
Law.

---

Clarification of Answer by journalist-ga on 01 Aug 2005 11:56 PDT

Hi again, MyKidzMom,

My apologies, but of course I couldn't know you specifically wanted a
Researcher who was a lawyer (as you didn't specify in your question),
or I would have passed on answering.  :)  However, I will do more
research and get back to you soon.  In the interim (before your
clarification was posted), I sent an email to my GA colleague,
expertlaw-ga, with a request that he look at my answer if he has the
time.  I'll let you know about that if he responds.

Best regards,
journalist-ga

I requested a refund on this question but do not see that status noted
anywhere.  I am dissatisfied because a journalist answered my legal
question.  Please put more parameters around who can answer what; I
specifically listed my question under "law" to receive an answer from
an attorney and had no idea I was supposed to specify this.  Please
refund my $20 and an email confirming the status of this request would
be most appreciated.  Thanks - mykidzmom-ga