General Requirements for Legal Name Change
Generally, those who want to change their names are required to file a petition with the court, which means that a new case must be filed in accordance with O.C.G.A. § 19-12-1.
The
request for a name change could be regarding an adult or a minor child.
O.C.G.A. § 19-12-1 spells out the requirements and the procedure for obtaining
a name change, which includes the requirement that a notice of the filing of
the name change petition be published once a week for four consecutive weeks in
the legal organ (i.e., the platform where legal notices are published, such as
the Gwinnett Daily Post) of the county in which the name change case is
pending. The notice must contain the following information: (1) the name of the
petitioner; (2) the new name requested by the petitioner; (3) the court in
which the name change case is pending; (4) the date on which the name change case
was filed; and (5) the right of any party to appear and object to the name
change. One of the reasons for the notice requirement is to ensure that the
name change is not for a fraudulent purpose.
Restoration of Maiden Names in Divorce
In a divorce case, you are allowed to
have your maiden name restored without filing a new, separate name change case.
That is, you get a "free pass" if you want your maiden name back in a divorce
case. See generally O.C.G.A. § 19-5-16. To take advantage of this
procedure, you must state specifically in your court filing in your divorce
case that you want your maiden name restored upon divorce.
Recent Changes to the Law Regarding Restoration of Maiden Name
Some spouses going through divorce
choose to keep their spouses' surnames for a variety of reasons. One common
reason is that they want to have the same last name as that of their minor
children. Under the old law, if a spouse's maiden name was not restored upon
divorce and that spouse later wanted restoration of the maiden name, then that
spouse was required to file a new name change case and meet all the
requirements, including the requirement regarding publication of the notice of
the name change action.
Based
upon the new law that went into effect on April 22, 2024, ex-spouses who want
their maiden name restored after the finalization of their divorce can accomplish
that goal without filing a new name change case. The new law simplified the
name change process for ex-spouses who want their maiden names back.
Specifically, ex-spouses are allowed to file a post-divorce, ex parte
motion to have their maiden names restored. This ex parte motion could
be filed any time after the entry of the final judgment and decree of divorce,
and a hearing may not be needed. The publication of the notice is not required.
If
you are divorced and want your maiden name back, contact your Georgia Divorce
Lawyer or Atlanta Divorce Lawyer regarding this process.
Written by: Daesik Shin