Legal Question in Family Law in Virginia

Re: Name Change

You can go to the clerk's office(civil division)of the circuit court nearest for your convenience and pick up a packet called: "Name Change For a Minor". This packet will contain forms with instructions as to how to do the name changes for your daughters.

You should be able to do this on your own without engaging the sevices of a lawyer.

Re: Name Change

Change of name is a Circuit Court Action governed by Virginia Code Section 8.01-217. The section delineates the method for changing the name of a minor. It requires that the person seeking the

name change "apply . . . to the circuit court of the county or city in which the person whose name is to be changed resides." It further requires reasonable notice to the parent who does

not seek the name change and a hearing to determine whether the name change is in the best interest of the minor.

The parent petitioning to change the surname of the minor bears the burden of proving that the change is in the minor's best interest. The petitioning parent may prove that the name change is in the best interest of the minor by showing that:

1. The parent sharing his or her surname with the minor has "abandoned the natural ties ordinarily existing between parent and child,"

2. The parent sharing his or her surname with the minor "has engaged in misconduct sufficient to embarrass the [minor] in the continued use" of the parent's name,

3. The minor "otherwise will suffer substantial

detriment" by bearing the surname he or she

currently bears, or

4. The minor "is of sufficient age and discretion to make an intelligent choice and . . . desires that [his or her] name be changed."

A "change of name will not be authorized . . . merely to save . . . minor inconvenience or embarrassment" to the parent or the minor."

This is all from Virginia case law and the Virginia Code.

There is a fee required to file the petition. You do not get the fee back if you lose your case. You are best served in this, as in any court action, by the services of a competent attorney.

Good luck!