How do you change your last name legally?

Answer:
It must be done via a court order. A judge must review the request and rule on granting it or not. Every court system usually has a pre-printed form for this procedure which you can follow and submit to the court. Visit your local Clerk of The Court's Office and ask.

You can download New Jersey's pre-printed name change forms by going to the web link which is under the related links below.

How to Change Your Last Name

To change your last name you can hire a paralegal to prepare the name change petition forms for you, or you can prepare them yourself. You can download your state's specific forms to petition the court to change your name from a credible legal forms database, like the one I put in the related links below. Once fill in the forms, and follow the filing instructions to file it, then you must appear before the court one time. The court appearance is just to verify you are who you say you are on the form, and during the proceedings you will be told the final answer, whether or not your new name was approved.

How to change your name in the US

You can change your name in the US to anything you want as long as your not changing it for fraudulent reasons. To change your name you first need to obtain your state's specific name change forms. You can download your state's compliant name change forms at the website in the related links below.

Once you have the name change forms that comply with your state's laws and requirements then you need to file the forms. The forms at the website in the related links below come with filling instructions. All you do is follow the filing instructions to petition the court for name change proceedings. Once you've filed the form then you will receive notice of a court date where the judge will let you know whether your new name has been granted or not.

First answer by Bob811. Last edit by Dmf32835. Contributor trust: 27 [recommend contributor recommended]. Question popularity: 4 [recommend question].