How to Change Family Name in Georgia
Family Name Change is a Superior court process. How to change a family name in Georgia will depend on how many people will be changing family names, their ages and where they all live now. A single adult, or many family members, living together or not, can legally change last names. A last name change is often called a Family Name Change. When more than one person in a family is changing names at the same time, that’s also called a Family Name Change. We do lots of them. We’ve learned how to do it by trial and error over a long period of time and all over the State of Georgia. All the courts have different rules about it. Because we’re in touch with the courts all the time, we can give you the most recent information about how your particular Family Name Change will work.
We’ve helped a family of 9 (both parents and seven children), parents with children from prior marriages; single mothers; adoptive families; same-sex couples; fiancées before marriage; spouses who changed their mind after marriage; and many, many others. We’ve probably helped others with situations just like yours.
We’ve helped a family of 9 (both parents and seven children), parents with children from prior marriages; single mothers; adoptive families; same-sex couples; fiancées before marriage; spouses who changed their mind after marriage; and many, many others. We’ve probably helped others with situations just like yours.
Because families have different situations, and courts have different rules about family name changes, you might want to call or email us to find out how your family can get the Legal Name Change you want. It’s a little complicated and isn’t free, but you can do this! Family Name Change is life changing…and in a very good way.
Whole Family Name Change
You can, in fact, legally change the last names of your whole family, including each family member. People do that for many deeply personal and important reasons. Sometimes, one or more of the family changes a first or middle name at the same time, which is also completely allowed. Your family may want to retake an ancestral name. Or, maybe your current last name has bad associations or another side of your family has a last name you want to carry on. You may have a spiritual, religious or numerological motivation. Maybe you’ve chosen a new family name for your family path going forward. These whole family name changes can be done. It’s a question of where you live, the number of adults and children, and the rules for the court that will process it.
New Family Name Change – Adults and Children
Adults and/or Children can get a new family name change so that you have the last name you want for life ahead. In Georgia, either spouse can take the family name of the other in the marriage license, but children can’t do that. With or without marriage, either adult and any children can have the new family name through the Superior Court process. Again, it’s a little bit complicated, but it’s great when all the adults and all the children in your family can have the same last name.
Step Family Name Change
A step father is the real father in many family situations. A Step Family Name Change is just the right way to help 1 or more children to be a family member more completely. A minor child can get a last name change of the biological parent Petitions for Change of Name. The Step parent is always very involved in a Step Family Name Change, but the biological parent is the Petition signer. A step family name change benefits everyone in the step family because the shared family name is recognition of the real family, inside the family and to everyone else also.
Taking New Family Name
In life, people change families sometimes. Sometimes a person has no family, and then joins one or helps make a new one. Some people want to chart a new path and a new family identity for their lives to come. Taking a new family name is an important part of being in a new family. Taking a new family name is a symbol that has great and personal meaning to each member of the family and to everyone else around them.
Re-Taking Ancestral Heritage Family Name
Re-taking your family’s ancestral name can be a deeply personal and important goal. You can do it through the legal name change process. Everyone’s ancestors had a name that is different from our own now. In some families, the last names are different just a generation or two ago. For some, you may have to go back farther to find the change, but it’s there.
Reclaiming Your Family Name
Reclaiming your family name, by changing your own last name to a recent or distant name your family used to have, lets you connect across time to your ancestors. With the family name change process, you (and other members of your current family) can have that name back for every legal purpose. Whether your family name got changed 30 years ago or 500 years ago, you can reclaim it now.
Family Name Change for Georgia Residents
For Family Name Change, prepare a collection of Forms, called a Petition for Change of Name. File them with the filing clerk in the County Superior Court for where your family lives now. Family captioning should be done a certain way, so get assistance if you can. The Court will set a Hearing for Your Name Change. Before that Hearing, you must have a qualified newspaper run a legal notice of the Hearing for 4 consecutive weeks. Your judge will review everything, and has all your information from the Petition. Usually, the judge approves Your Family Name Change at your Hearing. You get your Certified Copy(s) shortly after you your Order gets signed, from the same courthouse. For a fuller explanation of the process, click here: How to Change Your Name in Georgia
Social Security, DDS, Passports and other government and financial entities want each of you to show them a Certified Copy of your Court Order (actually called a Final Order Changing Name). When you do, they will give each of you new documents with Your New Legal Names.
It will take you 5-30 minutes to complete our Questionnaire, depending on your Family size. EZ Name Change takes 1 business day to review your information, properly prepare a complete Family Petition Documents, customized to Your Court’s local requirements and your particular Name Change. Family Name Change in Georgia takes about 2-3 months to get your Court Order, from the day you start to the day you have your Final Order(s) Changing Name, upon approval. That time frame can be a little longer, depending on the court’s scheduling and whether the judge has everything required or needs additional information or documents.
Your Family Petition Hearing(s) and decision can be delayed if your paperwork is incomplete, inaccurate or your background information raises questions that weren’t resolved before the Hearing date.
Family Name Change costs vary a lot, depending on how many family members are involved and how many are adults. Costs also vary based on where you all live, which newspaper is chosen, and how many Certified Copies you get. Its *about $476 (Full Service) for 1 person, with Full Service (Filing and Advertising included). There can be significant discounts for multiple people, depending on the number of minor children involved. Costs can be more, or less, depending on your Court and Newspaper. Court fees are usually the biggest part of family name change costs. Court fees can be waived if you qualify because of low income (ask us about court fee waiver forms if you think you may qualify). For itemization of costs for 1 person, click here for Full Service Georgia. We can give exact costs for families when we know your particular family size, age and location.
*Costs for court vary between $203 and $267 throughout the state, depending on the county where you live now. Costs for newspaper publishing are usually about $60-$207, but are usually $80-$125.
All Georgia Name Change Courts allow Family Name Change requests that court fees be waived. Fee Waiver Requests are for people who can’t afford the court fees and also pay for their regular monthly household living expenses at the same time. The court makes that decision based on the completed request Affidavit (under oath), with documentation as required.
EZ Name Change can prepare, with Full Service, and submit all the right forms to have the Court consider your Request to Waive Fees. You will need to provide the information. We will give you the questions to answer. The Court requires a properly completed Petition before they will consider Granting a Request to Waive Court Fees.
For Family Name Change, any truthful reason that doesn’t cause deceit, harm or fraud is likely to be an acceptable one.
To give you some relative perspective:
Robert Edward Forchion Jr. Petitioned to change his legal name to NJWeedman.com (the name of his website). He did that in New Jersey first (2002), and then in California (2011). Both Petitions were denied. However, in yet another NJ Petition, in 2022, his Petition was Granted and he is now NJWeedman.com, legally.
Court’s won’t likely allow you to get a name that is intended to mislead, cause public confusion, defraud, deceive, causes harm or that incites violence.
Your reason is probably perfectly fine! Put it in your own words and let’s get that going!!
Having different versions of your name on different ID and Records is a common problem.
Unfortunately that can cause delays, aggravation, and other trouble in different financial, travel, security, employment and other situations.
Fortunately, Legal Name Change can clear and clean it all up fully.
If you get a Final Order Changing Name, Granting Name Change to the 1 Name you want to be using for every purpose, you can get that name across all your ID. Your Social Security, DDS, Passport and main bank should all have your legal name match.
Each family member can choose the first and middle name’s you want officially and legally, regardless of the name’s on your birth certificates. Last names too, of course.
Take your Certified Court Orders, and go change all your important records. Take it to each government, financial and every other office where your ID and Official Records are kept, and have your chosen Legal Name uniformly reflected in all those places.
No more aggravating delays and disruption as you’re all moving around your lives. Instead, smooth sailing and smiles:)
Yes, but it’s relatively rare.
If you want new ID or Official Records of your Name Changed, you will probably need a court order to do it. For a small change to Your Name with Social Security, or School, or DDS, or Passport, just ask them to do it and find out. If they tell you to get a court order, then you need a “Legal Name Change”.
Family Name Change usually is for all of you changing last names. But, it can be for first and/or middle names too.
Even if you want just one letter changed, or even if one of you just wants your first name changed around with your middle name…those are all Legal Name Changes. When you Petition for Change of Name, you can propose changing your name just a little, or completely. The Reason that requires a Court Order is not how much of a change you want. It’s whether you want to require someone to honor your name the way you want. Some places won’t do it unless you bring them a properly Certified order from a Superior Court. Social Security, DDS and Schools usually require that you present them with that Certified Court Order.
A Court Order, or Final Order Changing Name, is the type of court order they want. All the primary government agencies will issue you new ID in your preferred name when you give them a Certified Name Change Court Order. You will get that document(s) at the end of this process, upon approval of a judge. All 50 states honor the Certified, Georgia Final Order Changing Name. The Federal Government, and all other governments honor it too.
A LOT of people are born with one name, but grow up using another name. Ever since 9/11, that situation has become a problem for licensing, travel, registration, security, employment, banking, benefits and other 21st century considerations.
A Name Change Court Order can help you get all of those fixed. The successful end of the Petition process puts a Certified Copy of that Court Order in your hands. You must do it correctly. Then just take your Decree Changing Name to who ever is flagging you. Problem solved.
Americans have always been having name changes or name variations when growing up. The 38th President of the United States was born Leslie Lynch King Jr. You’ve never heard of President King Jr though. That’s because he filed a Name Change Petition as a young adult, and legally changed his name to the one he grew up using….Gerald Ford. Let’s make that President Gerald Ford.
With Full Service, it’ll take about 2 – 3 months to get your Court Order, upon approval. This process fully legalizes your names, just the way you want them from now on. Name Change fixes the problem. Legally and permanently.
Can I Change More Than One Child’s Name At The Same Time?
Yes. It’s much more economical than doing them separately. One or both parents can also change their names at the same time, but with their own Petitions. 2 or more children can be processed together in a single Family Petition (for minor child(ren)). See the additional information about Child Name Change Georgia.
What if some of us have different last names now?
As long as you are a Family, living together in Georgia now, we can process you together. It’s quite common, in the 21st century, for a family to have parents with different last names and possibly children who have different last names too.
If all the court forms are properly completed and the information needed by the judge is properly presented, you should be able to come out of the process with exactly the Family Names you want. That’s easy to say, but not so easy to do without EZ Full Service.
Name Change for 2 or More Family Members
In Georgia, you can change the names of multiple family members at the same time. We’ve successfully helped a Family of 9. Families change names for many different reasons, just like individuals do.
After marriage or remarriage, children and/or spouses may want to share last names all together. Sometimes couples, or whole families, want to retake an ancestral name. Or, sometimes a young couple wants to take their own new family name to pursue their shared future. Sometimes a person wants to lose a last name with bad memories or associations. Lots of different and good reasons.
At EZ Name Change, we’re very experienced at Family Name Change. You choose the names and give us the information…we’ll take you the rest of the way there. For specific details about Family Name Change costs and time frames, give us a call at 818 505-6189. Or, send us your situation and questions by email (info@eznamechange.com) for a quick and detailed response.
EZ Name Change Georgia
Providing Services in All 159 Georgia Counties
Only EZ Name Change Specializes in Legal Name Change for Georgia residents.
Full Service for the Name Change Court Process in all of Georgia’s 159 Counties.
