When someone decides to make a change to his or her gender, sometimes they also wish to change their name to better suit their new gender. According to a new law set in motion that became effective on July, 1, 2014, persons that have decided to change their name to better suit their new gender are not legally required to give notice. Before this law was put in place, these individuals who wished to change their name in order to better suit their new gender would have to notify the court and have their new name published in the local newspaper in the legal notices section. However, because transgender advocacy groups felt that doing this would mark these individuals for hate crimes, discrimination, and embarrassment, the new law came into effect to prevent this from happening.
As it is with any time a person decides to change their name, such as when they get married, or simply because they don’t like the name their parents gave them and wish to change it, there is a lot of paperwork involved. Usually the individual(s) who wish to change their name will fill out paperwork, pay a small fine, and go to court to make the name change official. There are other little things that the individual must do as well such as calling the power company, gas company, cell phone provider, etc. and having their name changed on their bills.
Under this new law, only individuals who have changed their gender or plan on changing their gender along with their name are exempt from having their new name published in the local newspaper, as name changes for other reasons that are listed above do not carry the same embarrassment, discrimination, or possible violence that transgender individuals would experience through having their new name published in the local newspaper.
This new law is a step forward in the acceptance and protection of transgender individuals, and it is also a step forward in the acceptance of these individuals that they have advocacy groups that argue for their legal rights. If the individual that wishes to change their name is not a transgender individual, but feels that by having their new name published they will experience discrimination, embarrassment, or possibly even violence, they can ask the court to not be legally required to go through this final step in the name changing procedure.
For more information about the California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1277 (a) (5), also known as California law update—no publication required for name changes to gender transitions, consult with an attorney or visit montesfamilylaw.com.
Works Cited
“No Publication Required for CA Name Changes Related to Gender Transition – Legal Updates –Nolo.com.” Nolo.com. Nolo, 1 July 2014. Web. 25 Feb. 2016.
