Results 1 to 5 of 5
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    4

    Default Changing Your Name Based Upon a Divorce Judgment, Years After Divorce

    My question involves name change laws in the State of: Illinois

    My girlfriend was divorced in 1997. As part of the divorce decree, she received a formal order restoring her birth name. Being distraught at the time, however, she never followed through.

    Flash-forward to today and she wants to return to her birth name on her driver's license, social security card and password.

    Can she waltz into the DMV, Social Security office et cetera with a certified copy of a 13-years-old divorce decree and accomplish this simply?

    Or is there a statute of limitations on these things? Does she have to instead go through the onerous process of filling out the name-change forms, ponying up the three-hundred-plus dollars, running an ad for three weeks and waiting for a hearing date?

    In eight weeks she leaves the country for sixteen months, and we were hoping to get this done before she goes.

    Thanks in advance for your replies.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Somewhere near Canada
    Posts
    35,894

    Default Re: Formal Order Restoring a Birth Name: Statute of Limitations

    Social security card might be a problem, specially as it's the holiday season. 8 weeks doesn't leave her a whole lot of time.

    Why doesn't she give them each a call and ask what she needs to do?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    4

    Default Re: Formal Order Restoring a Birth Name: Statute of Limitations

    I suppose each individual office might know whether a 13-year-old divorce decree will fly. My concern is that people often try to save themselves trouble by giving less-than-authoritative answers.

    So if I call the DMV and they tell me "No, we can't take a 13-year-old divorce decree," I'm concerned they may really be saying "We don't want you clogging up our queue, take it somewhere else," and the information may be dead wrong.

    I'm not against calling. But I was hoping someone in the field of law could first tell me authoritatively whether a 13-year-old divorce decree still stands in Illinois, particularly where the formal order restoring a birth name is concerned.

    It'd give me a leg to stand on if we have to sit in an office and argue.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    4

    Default Re: Formal Order Restoring a Birth Name: Statute of Limitations

    So for general interest, in Illinois:

    I called both the DMV and the Social Security office.

    In both cases, it is perfectly okay to walk in with a 13-years-old divorce decree containing a formal order to restore a birth name and restore your name. I'm told there should be no hassle, so we'll see.

    To reiterate: it appears from my two phone conversations there is no statute of limitations on restoring your birth name if it's part of your divorce decree.

    I'll post results once we've actually gone through with it.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    4

    Default Re: Formal Order Restoring a Birth Name: Statute of Limitations

    UPDATE:

    After calling first, I drove down to the courthouse and got a certified copy of the divorce decree on Tuesday for $2 a page plus $9 for certification. It took a little while for them to track it down on microfilm (it's thirteen years old, so they couldn't even find it in the basement), but the courthouse staff were friendly and courteous and even stayed open late to accommodate me. It's a public document, so my girlfriend didn't have to be there to get a copy. It helped that I had the docket number and date of entry of the divorce decree.

    The following day, Wednesday, my girlfriend took her certified copy to the Social Security office. They were well-aware of the fact that there's no statute of limitations on the name change order in the divorce decree, and within half-an-hour my girlfriend had filled out the form they handed to her and was out the door. She was told her new card would arrive in two weeks.

    So far so good: next up are the DMV for the license and then a new passport. I will report on how that goes.

    I suppose I continue to post so that anyone else reverting to their birth name post-divorce will have an idea of whether or not the process is a smooth one. So far: no hassles, very quick and remarkably cheap!

    1. Sponsored Links
       

Similar Threads

  1. Divorce: Divorce Judgment
    By femmenoir in forum Divorce, Annulment and Separation
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 08-25-2009, 08:53 PM
  2. Divorce: Getting a Divorce Judgment
    By kirk blake in forum Divorce, Annulment and Separation
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 02-08-2009, 08:56 AM
  3. Property Division: Changing a Divorce Settlement After a Year
    By tiredofex in forum Divorce, Annulment and Separation
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 08-07-2007, 06:35 AM
  4. Divorce: Changing name as part of divorce
    By manman_8 in forum Divorce, Annulment and Separation
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 09-13-2006, 01:37 PM
  5. Property Division: Enforcing a Divorce Judgment
    By pursaa in forum Divorce, Annulment and Separation
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 10-30-2005, 05:56 PM
 
 
Sponsored Links

Legal Help, Information and Resources