Legal Question in Family Law in Virginia

I recently found out that my birth certificate has my mother's maiden name as my last name and that the man I thought adopted me when he married her didn't. Everything I have ever had is in his last name though. All of my medical records, school records, Social Security card, etc. has his last name. I even had a military dependent id with his last name. He was in the military and this was the 60's and 70s. I want to remedy this but am not sure where to start. Do I need a lawyer to help me sort this out or can I do it myself? I also wonder if my marriage is legal or not since the name I used on the license isn't the one on my birth certificate. We want to go on a cruise for our 15th Anniversary and I wanted to get a passport and this is how I found out. Until then, my mother had my birth certificate for safe keeping and I had never even seen it. I'm not even sure what type of law this falls under but am choosing Family Law.


Asked on 9/19/09, 8:25 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert Beard Attorney at Law

I'm assuming that you want to keep using the name you have used all your life.

The easiest thing to do would be to file a petition for name change in your local circuit court. This is relatively inexpensive and you might be able to do it without a lawyer.

You can find a form for a name change, with instructions, at the following link:

http://www.courts.state.va.us/forms/circuit/civil.html

Look for Application for Name Change (Adult). Once the name change order is entered, you can apply for a new birth certificate with your "new" name.

You may need help docketing the petition or preparing the name change order, but start by checking at your circuit court clerk's office to see what the local practice is. They can't give you legal advice, but they can sometimes point you in the right direction. At the very least, they should be able to provide you with a copy of Form CC-1412, which is the Order for name change that you can fill in. If they can't, I can email you a copy.

Good luck.

Read more
Answered on 9/24/09, 9:11 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Family Law, Divorce, Child Custody and Adoption questions and answers in Virginia