How to Amend a Court Order for a Name Change
My question involves name change laws in the State of: WA
Although I've been a resident of the state of Washington for over 20 years, I was born in the State of New York.
A little over a year ago, I obtained a legal name change here in WA. I then attempted to use the resulting Order to change the name on my NY birth certificate. NY wouldn't make the change because the WA-issued order did not include my date of birth and place of birth.
So, I believe that I will need to to return to my local District Court in order to amend the Order Granting Name Change to include that information. As my funds are limited, I'm seeking to do this myself, as I have some experience producing legal documents.
What I don't know is how to go about finding out what sort of pleading or other document to generate for submission to the court.
I did call the District Court and the person on the phone advised me to write a letter to "Your Honor" c/o the District Court in question. The person on the phone seemed uncertain regarding whether it would be possible for me to obtain an amended order.
1. Does this sound right?
2. How can I go about finding out how to obtain such an amended order?
Thank you in advance for any assistance you may be able to provide.
Re: How to Amend a Court Order for a Name Change
In Washington, both the forms for a name change petition and order and the court rules governing the procedure can vary by county. The general rules of court for this type of proceeding can be found here, including the rules governing motion practice. Generally speaking, in this type of situation you would follow proper procedure to bring a motion before the court that issued the order asking that it amend its order to include the information required by New York. While the information is not required to be in a Washington order approving a name change, I did not see a prohibition on its inclusion -- but there are general provisions that are intended to keep people from abusing the information that is included in court records, for example by using the details in a court record to commit identity theft, and I can't rule out the possibility that your local court will be concerned that those provisions may apply. You will also need to check the local court rules for your county (LCRLJ) to see if there are any that govern motion practice and name change procedures.
Re: How to Amend a Court Order for a Name Change
Thanks very much, Mr. Knowitall. Your kind and thorough assistance is very much appreciated. I feel more confident that I can begin the process now.