Legal Question in Family Law in California

Hi. I have two children who were given both parent's sir names at birth. However, they both go by the second last name: ie Mary Jones Doe goes by Mary Doe. Their Social Security records and the IRS identify them by the second last name. The problem is that the birth recorder or Office of Vital Statistics added a hyphen to their names: Mary Jones-Doe. My daughter is now seeking a driver's license in CA and the DMV insists that her legal name is Jones-Doe and that her SS card doesn't match, so she won't be issued a license until she has two matching accepted docs. I anticipate that both kids will have endless problems with this when they get jobs, apply for passports... How do I resolve this? The family name is Doe, not Jones-Doe.

Thanks


Asked on 2/03/11, 10:54 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
James Chau Law Offices James Chau

You may need to go through a legal name change in your local court house to get your passports and drivers licenses to match. Usually the social security card is not acceptable for changing a name. The drivers license and passports go exactly as the legal name is. It will cost you a little money but you should do it sooner so you don't have more problems later on when the children are older.

For self represented individuals you can consult with the family law facilitator self help center at your local court house.

As always please consult a local attorney prior to taking legal action. Good luck. Also please check out my Santa Clara County Family Lawyer blog.

Law Offices James Chau

1625 The Alameda Suite 204

San Jose, CA. 95126

http://www.jameschaulaw.com/

http://sanjosefamilylawyer.blogspot.com/

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Answered on 2/04/11, 10:39 am


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