Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland

Re: Family Name Change

To legally change someone's name, a petition name must be filed in the circuit court of your county. There will be a court filing fee, and you will also probably be required to place a legal notice in a local newspaper, thereby incurring the cost of same. I suggest you try and get the court clerks to help you fill out the paperwork so that the petition is properly worded. They can also explain the various steps you have to follow in order to accomplish this.

Re: Family Name Change

File a petition for name change in the Circuit Court of the

county of your residence. Public notice will be required for yourself

and may be required for your children. It is best to use public notice on

all those concerned. The public notice will need to be in a newspaper that provides

sufficient coverage in the local area. The county times is usually acceptable. More than

one publication may be needed in certain circumstances. The objective of publication is to

make reasonable notice to all those with whom you, and/or your children, may have an interest.

The petition must be properly worded. It needs to articulate a basis upon which the name change is sought.

This is a factually dependent matter that you should address prior to filing the petition. The clerk of the court may be

of some assistance.

All said and done, you'll then need to notify the Motor Vehicle Administration, banks, insurance companies, and reflect name changes in any legal documents

that you may have, such as wills, trusts, etc. The school should be notified to update their records. Lastly, then there is the matter of the phone directory, post office, and other

such matters that, although there is no legal impact, you should change in order to have a smooth progression with continued service.

Hope this helps.