name change question for my daughter what to do ?

Question

im trying to get my daughters last name changed , i live in hawaii and im new to this area what can i do or where can i go for info ??

does it matter if i live Hawaii and the biological father is in CA ?
can i still get her name changed here ?

Answer 1

www.namechangelaw.com Hawaii's laws:
Hawaii Name Change Center

The Hawaii Name Change Law Center is a resource on changing your name in the State of Hawaii for non-lawyers and pro se litigants. Please let us know if we have omitted a link to an important state resource and we will gladly add it.

PRODUCTS AVAILABLE: links
Hawaii Name Change for an Adult - $39.95
Hawaii Name Change for a Minor - Both Parents Petitioning - $39.95
Hawaii Name Change for a Minor - One Parent Petitioning, One Parent Providing Written Consent - $39.95
Paralegal Prepared Hawaii Name Change for an Adult - $79.95
Paralegal Prepared Hawaii Name Change for a Minor - Both Parents Petitioning - $99.95
Paralegal Prepared Hawaii Name Change for a Minor - One Parent Petitioning, One Parent Providing Written Consent - $99.95
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Marital Separation Agreements


Courts and Community Resources links:

Mediation
Glossary of Family Law Terms
Hawaii State Judiciary
Hawaii Court System with Self-Help Legal Information
Hawaii Name Change Law

§574-5 Change of Name Procedure.

(a) It shall be unlawful to change any name adopted or conferred under this chapter, except:

(1) Upon an order of the lieutenant governor;

(2) By a final order, decree, or judgment of the family court issued as follows:

(A) When in an adoption proceeding a change of name of the person to be adopted is requested and the court includes the change of name in the adoption decree;

(B) When in a divorce proceeding either party to the proceeding requests to resume the middle name or names and the last name used by the party prior to the marriage or a middle name or names and last name declared and used during any prior marriage and the court includes the change of names in the divorce decree; or

(C) When in a proceeding for a change of name of a legitimate or legitimated minor initiated by one parent, the family court, upon proof that the parent initiating the name change has made all reasonable efforts to locate and notify the other parent of the name change proceeding but has not been able to locate, notify, or elicit a response from the other parent, and after an appropriate hearing, orders a change of name determined to be in the best interests of the minor; provided that the family court may waive the notice requirement to the non-initiating, non-custodial parent where the court finds that the waiver is necessary for the protection of the minor;

(3) Upon marriage pursuant to section 574-1;

(4) Upon legitimation pursuant to section 338-21; or

(5) By an order or decree of any court of competent jurisdiction within any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any territory or possession of the United States, changing the name of a person born in this State.

(b) The order of change of name by the lieutenant governor shall be founded upon a notarized petition. The petition shall be executed by the person desirous of making the change of name. In the case of a minor, the petition shall be executed:

(1) By the parents;

(2) By the parent who has custody of the minor with the notarized consent of the noncustodial parent; or

(3) By the guardian of the person of the minor.

(c) The filing fee of $100 shall accompany the petition when submitted and shall not be refundable.

(d) A notice of change of name signed by the lieutenant governor shall be published once in a newspaper of general circulation in the State as mentioned in the order for change of name, and the petitioner within sixty days of the signing of the notice of change of name shall deposit at the office of the lieutenant governor an affidavit executed by an officer of the newspaper publishing the notice showing that the notice has been published therein. The affidavit shall have attached to it a clipping showing the notice as published. Failure to deposit the affidavit of publication as required shall void that petition for a change of name by that petitioner.

(e) When the petition is accompanied by an affidavit executed by a prosecuting attorney of this State, the affidavit shall show that for the protection of the person desirous of making a change of name, the following actions shall not be necessary:

(1) Publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the State; and

(2) Recordation in the bureau of conveyances.

The petition, affidavit, and order shall be kept confidential. [L 1860, p 32, §6; am L 1872, c 30, §1; am L 1907, c 75, §1; RL 1925, §3122; RL 1935, §4666; am L 1935, c 93, §1; RL 1945, §12387; am L 1945, c 145, §1; am L 1953, c 237, §1; RL 1955, §327-5; am L Sp 1959 2d, c 1, §9; HRS §574-5; am L 1977, c 31, §1; am L 1980, c 153, §4; am L 1982, c 50, §1; am L 1983, c 251, §1; am L 1984, c 245, §1; am L 1985, c 190, §2; am L 1986, c 250, §1; am L 1991, c 121, §3; am L 1992, c 5, §1; am L 1995, c 152, §1; am L 1998, c 311, §9]

Cross References

Modification of fees, see §92-28.

Rules of Court

Adoption, change of name, see HFCR rule 111(a).

Attorney General Opinions

There is no requirement for a hearing before granting a name change. Att. Gen. Op. 79-5.

Office of the lieutenant governor should continue to require consent of the legal father before granting change in surname of minor child. Att. Gen. Op. 79-8.

Change of name should not be granted if it appears that the word constituting a name is to be used as a title rather than as a name; hearing required to deny request. Att. Gen. Op. 81-1.

Consent of the minor's parents should be sought before a guardian of the minor petitions for a name change; legal guardian of an incapacitated person may petition for a name change. Att. Gen. Op. 90-1.

§574-6 Effect of change. (a) The change of name provided for by order of the lieutenant governor shall be effective upon the date of publication of the notice of change of name.

(b) In all cases of change of name by order of the lieutenant governor, except as otherwise provided by law, the order shall be recorded in the bureau of conveyances within sixty days after the signing of the order.

(c) All changes of names made by decree of any governor, or by the president of the Republic of Hawaii, or by the president of the Provisional Government of Hawaii, or by any king or queen of the Hawaiian Islands, are ratified and confirmed.

(d) The lieutenant governor shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 necessary for the purposes of this chapter. [L 1982, c 50, §2; am L 1984, c 245, §2; am L 1985, c 190, §1; am L 1986, c 250, §2]


www.hawaii.gov/ltgov/office/name:

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR CHANGE OF NAME
Name changes in the State of Hawaii are authorized to the Hawaii Revised Statutes 574-5. This statute provides that a name may be legally changed by an administrative order of the Lieutenant Governor upon a notarized petition, signed by the person requesting the change of name. The Lieutenant Governor has adopted rules that specify the procedures for changing a name (Title 2, Chapter 2, Hawaii Administrative Rules).
The name of a minor can be changed only when both parents consent to the change. If one parent cannot be located or does or does not give consent, they may obtain a change of name through Family Court. For more information, please contact Family Court on your island.
There is a $50.00 Non-Refundable Filing Fee. When a Petition is rejected due to typographical errors or missing information; the $50.00 fee is applied to the re-submitted Petition; however, when the Lieutenant Governor formally denies a Petition, the $50.00 filing fee is not applied to any subsequent Petition.
The following forms are in PDF format and you are able to type in using your computer. After completing forms, please print. Free Adobe Acrobat Reader:

FORM A: Name Change of Individual
FORM B: Name Change of Husband and Wife
FORM C: Name Change of Minor by Parents
FORM D: Name Change of Husband, Wife, and Minor Children
FORM E: Name Change of Minor by one Parent with the
NOTARIZED CONSENT of the OTHER PARENT
FORM F: Name Change of Parent and Minor Children with the
NOTARIZED CONSENT of the OTHER PARENT
NAME CHANGE PROCESS
ALL forms must be typed out. Forms may also be re-typed on the computer.
A $50.00 filing fee can be paid by cash, if applying in person, otherwise only by cashier's check or money order. Cashier's checks or money order should be made payable to the Office of the Lt. Governor. No personal checks will be accepted.
NOTICE OF CHANGE OF NAME:
After the Lt. Governor signs the Notice, the Notice will be returned to the Petitioner for publication in a newspaper of general circulation, as required by Statute. Petitioner should take or mail the Notice to the newspaper of his/her choice with applicable publication fee.
The Notice must be published within 60 calendar days upon date signed by Lt. Governor. Failure to publish the Notice within 60 calendar days automatically voids the Petition.
The Lt. Governor’s office will NOT be responsible for any errors in the Notice of Change of Name. If errors are detected after publication, the cost to republish the Notice will be the responsibility of the Petitioner.
Upon publication (1 day only) the newspaper will send an affidavit to the Petitioner, which confirms the publication of the Notice of Change of name. An original affidavit will also be sent to the Office of the Lt. Governor.
ORDER:
Upon receipt of the original affidavit, the Lt. Governor will sign the Order. Petitioner will then mail the signed original Order to the Bureau of Conveyances with $25.00. The remaining four (4) copies are for the Petitioner’s personal use.
AMENDMENT TO THE BIRTH OR MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE
BORN OR MARRIED IN THE STATE OF HAWAII:
To complete the legal change of name on your birth or marriage certificate, you must submit a certified copy of the Name Change Order and Petition. The fee to amend the birth or marriage certificate is $3.00 and a $10.00 fee for a copy of the certificate. All fees subject to change without notification, for more information call the Department of Health, Vital Statistics Office at 586-4541. You either mail or hand carry your documents to the:
State Department of Health Vital Statistics
1250 Punchbowl Street, Room 103, (P.O. Box 3378)
Honolulu, Hawaii 96801
Between 7:45am- 2:30pm
NOT BORN OR MARRIED IN THE STATE OF HAWAII:
Check with the Bureau of Vital Records in the state or country of your birth or marriage if you wish to amend your certificate(s).
The ORDER issued by the State of Hawaii Office of the Lt. Governor is an ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER (signed by the Lt. Governor), NOT a COURT ORDER (signed by a Judge). Most States require a Court Order before amending a birth or marriage certificate


Contact Lt. Governor

Please address correspondence to:
Honorable Lieutenant Governor James R. Aiona Jr.
Executive Chambers
Hawaii State Capitol
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813

Phone: [phone]
FAX: [phone]

e-mail: [e-mail]

The best way for citizens to contact the Lt. Governor is to use the e-mail form below (see website). Your e-mail will be personally reviewed and responded to as soon as possible.

Copyright © 2004-2007 State of Hawaii - All rights reserved.

Answer 2

Submit a notarized petition to the office of the Liutenant Governors office. Pay a $100 nonrefundable filing fee; and get a notice of the name change, signed by the lieutenant governor, published once in a newspaper of general circulation in the state of Hawaii.

Pay a $25 Bureau of Conveyances fee and the cost to publish a notice in a newspaper, which may vary.

I think that is it, but sometimes worth while to pay an attorney for this type of action. If it is not done properly or if something is missed it could cause serious problems later on.

Answer 3

Certainly can't expand on the great information other's provided in regards to HOW to change the name in Hawaii.

But I do want to pipe in that you really need to make sure the Social Security Administration is aware of the name change when it takes place if your daughter has a Social Security Number (this is not automacally done in most [if any] places).

Having a name/SSN mismatch can cause all sorts of problems from hassles with identification (and soon, airline travel) to problems with future benefits.

Definitely want to notify the Social Security Administration if and when a name change occurs.

Answer 4

Go to the county courthouse. Talk to the county clerk. He/she will either know or know where to send you.