Legal Question in Family Law in Florida

My elderly, invalid mother is 81 and needs to renew her Florida ID. Unfortunately, due to the state's adoption of the arcane and exacting federal Real ID standards, she has a problem.
In 1957, upon her marriage, she did what many, many married women did in that era: she adopted her pre-marital surname as her middle name. This was done informally, on a common-law basis. She has consistently used that construction of her name for over half a century now, and that middle name (or its initial) appears on everything she has ever done (divorce, will, employment, pension, Social Security, Medicare, taxes, etc.). Yet the Florida DHSMV will now not recognize that name because there is no official document granting her the change. (This is also a problem with the SSA, since Real ID requirements demand that the full legal name -- including full middle name, not just an initial -- match on both state ID and Social Security card, and the SSA wants the same sort of documentation before they will spell out her middle name on her card.)
Is it possible to go before a judge and have such an old and well-established name change "retroactively" and officially recognized? (Such a document would almost certainly satisfy the requirements for both agencies.) And, if so, what sort of attorney (area of practice) should I be looking for? (If it were just a simple name change, we could probably do it without an attorney, but given the unusual nature of my mother's situation, I don't want to take any chances.)
Thanks in advance for any replies!

Asked on 2/23/10, 12:46 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Brent Rose The Orsini & Rose Law Firm

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I'm sure your example is only the first of many nightmares Real ID will visit upon Florida and many states. State and Federal officials promised us this would be an easy transition for Floridians, since our state laws closely matched Real ID requirements before the change recently took effect. We'll see. It seems to me the your solution should be a simple one: a name change petition to establish the name your mother has chosen. If this is the case, any family law attorney worth his salt should be able to help you. However, this is new to all of us, and none of us are sure what documents the DHSMV will accept. You'd think a court order would do it, but who knows? I wish you and your mother the best of luck. Don't forget, the government is here to help. Right.

Answered on 3/01/10, 11:56 am

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