Trying to Get Passport

[bardgirl]

My question involves name change laws in the State of: Arizona.
My son, who is 26 years old now, applied for a passport. He is in Florida, but on paper is an Arizona resident. When he was 2 years old, there was a court order to change the spelling of his first name Zackary to Zachary, drop the middle name and hypenate last name to reflect both parents names dad-mom. Court order said to get new birth certificate to add dad's name. Well mom never bothered since it was never a question going through school, growing up he kept moms last name, dad didnt mind. No biggie. When son got older he wanted to use his dads last name and i told him no problem, it was already done in the courts when he was 2. He also needed to get a new drivers license once he turned 21, and the University wanted his ID to reflect the last name used to register for school dad-mom. While he was in another AZ city, I went to local courthouse and got certified copy of court order. Went to my DMV and asked them to certify documents and communicate with his DMV where he was waiting to get new ID. They did. Even though the court order changed the spelling of his first name, the DMV did not change it in their system, and he got a new drivers license spelled the way he wanted it, even though the court order specified otherwise. So DMV is good, SS card is okay, but his birth certificate was never changed and the court order shows a spelling he doesnt want to keep. Now the passport people are questioning different name on BC and DL. They want copy of court order showing name hypenated; however, his the court order shows a spelling he doesnt want to keep and he wants to keep his middle name, which the court order dropped. My question is, since he is in Florida, but recognized as an Arizona resident, can he fill out the name change request documents for ARizona, sign and have then notarized in florida, mail them to me to file on his behalf in Arizona Court? and hopefully not have to appear. Can I appear on his behalf since I am his mother?

[flyingron]

Nope, mommy. Your son is a big boy now. He either appears by himself or gets an attorney to do it.

[pg1067]

He is in Florida, but on paper is an Arizona resident.

Please explain what this means.

he is in Florida, but recognized as an Arizona resident

Recognized by whom?

When you say that "he is in Florida," what exactly does that mean? I assume it means he lives in Florida. Correct? How long has he lived there? Unless he's only lived in Florida for a few weeks, why do you think he is "an Arizona resident"?

an he fill out the name change request documents for ARizona, sign and have then notarized in florida, mail them to me to file on his behalf in Arizona Court?

Absent some clear explanation of why you think this ought to be done somewhere other than where he lives, any legal action to change his name needs to be done where he lives. And, aside from that, it would be a heck of a lot more convenient to do it where he lives.

Can I appear on his behalf since I am his mother?

You can appear. However, if a personal appearance is required, the court isn't going to accept your appearance in lieu of his.

[cbg]

Given that he is a legal adult, he can appear for himself, or a lawyer can appear for him, but unless you are a licensed attorney, you cannot appear in his place.

[bardgirl]

I figured he is still AZ resident because his drivers license an Arizona drivers license, along with car registration and insurance all from Arizona. I thought it would be easier to correct the name issue in Arizona because its an Arizona birth certificate, etc. Flyingron, I am not trying to baby him, so far from the truth, just trying to help fix a situation that I caused, and until recently didn't realize his first name spelling was court ordered to be different than we used all of his life. I honestly dont remember that, but its in the order, and I really dont remember requesting to remove his middle name altogether. But again, its in the court order. The DMV and Social Security admin have his name in their systems the way he prefers it, but for passport purposes, the BC and court order indicate otherwise. What a mess. He got a letter from the Passport people giving him 90 days to provide court order with name change. I got a certified copy of the court order from 22 years ago, and thats when i noticed the order is to drop the K in his first name and replace it with an H, thus Zachary, (he used Zackary all of his life and wants to keep it that way) and middle name in the order just isnt there. Now we want to have it corrected to what it should be. Last name is okay in court order.

I guess he could file in Florida court, but can he do this with Arizona ID? Yeah I know he needs to just switch residency, but i dont think he plans to stay in Florida long. Due to his career choice, moving state to state is not uncommon.

[flyingron]

Driver's license, car registration, and insurance do NOT determine residence. Residence is where you are residing. If he is residing in Florida, he is breaking the law by not obtaining a Florida license. If the car is garaged in Florida, it should be licensed and insured there as well.

He doesn't get any breaks for an intent to move in the future. He needs to stop breaking the law and then he can worry about getting a passport.

[pg1067]

I figured he is still AZ resident because his drivers license an Arizona drivers license, along with car registration and insurance all from Arizona. I thought it would be easier to correct the name issue in Arizona because its an Arizona birth certificate, etc.

I think what you're saying is that he used to be a resident of Arizona but he's now (for how long?) a resident of Florida and that he hasn't yet gotten a Florida driver's license or registered his car in Florida or notified his (auto?) insurer that he has moved. Correct? Unless he's only been in Florida for a few days or a week or so, he's likely in violation of Florida law for the first two of these, and failing to notify his auto insurer of a move like that probably puts his coverage at risk.

As I wrote previously, if he's now a resident of Florida, then a name change action needs to happen in Florida.

[bardgirl]

I was hoping I could handle it here in Arizona nunc pro tunc.

[cbg]

Once again, YOU cannot handle it at all since your son is a legal adult. Unless you are a licensed attorney in the appropriate state, HE may appear for himself or a licensed attorney may appear for him, but IT IS ILLEGAL FOR HIS PARENT TO APPEAR FOR HIM ONCE HE IS NO LONGER A MINOR. Why is that so hard to understand?

[bardgirl]

I have to say, you are all ruthless. Jeez! I get it. However, I was able to make progress. Took certified copy of court order to vital records. They issued a new birth certificate with only one error (his first name is has one letter wrong in spelling) no biggie. However, received new letter from passport office, they said the only issue is with last name, but if certified copy of court order could not be obtained, then he could submit two notarized letters from people attesting to his name usage, or he could submit two official original documents from a school, state or official correspondence (insurance - thats the example they gave) that shows the usage of his name. So there, problem solved! BTW, I did hear you all, and relayed importance of obtaining new drivers license, insurance, car registration, etc. from the state he lives in now. Thanks for that advice.