We Can Help You Get A Legal Name Change in Florida
My name is Jennifer, and I’m a Collaborative Family Law Paralegal and Client Care Specialist at Family Diplomacy. I’ve been working closely with residents of Florida to assist them with legal name changes since 2013. Not all residents of Florida whom we have helped actually live in Florida, but they have established residency here. We have worked with clients deployed in the military, people who work or go to school overseas, and people who live some of the year in different parts of the country. We are also able to help clients all over Florida through Zoom; in fact, we have not been required to attend a name change final hearing in person since before the Covid lockdown in March 2020.
Common Reasons For Changing Your Legal Name in Florida
Florida is a great state to change your name.. Counties have different requirements, but we have found the requirements to be relatively simple, for the most part.
I learned early on that people change their names for many reasons. Some people don’t like their first or last name, or prefer a different name. Some have been called a different name most of their lives and decide to make it official. I’ve also learned that you actually don’t need a reason to change your name at all. You can change it simply because you want to.
Correcting Your Name for Legal Documents
A more common reason that people change their name is that newer security measures in the United States now require primary identification documents to match. For instance, some people have a misspelling or a different name on their birth certificate than on the rest of their documents for some reason. This may not have been an issue 30 years ago, but today it can result in non-renewal of a driver’s license or issues with social security or Medicare. We have had potential clients told they will be denied approval on their home mortgage if the names on their documents do not match exactly down to the letter. Sometimes the individual is told to get a legal name change to fix the problem.
Transgender Legal Name Changes
Another very common reason for name changes today is that our transgender community is growing and thriving. Young adults and older adults are finding the freedom to be themselves and live as they choose, and they want to legally be known by the name they choose to call themselves and by the name that their work colleagues, friends, and family call them. We also work with families that support their transgender children in changing their legal names. If you’d like to change your child or teenager’s name (and both parents agree), we can help. If you are an adult that would like to change your name, we can help.
First Steps to a Legal Name Change in Florida
If you or someone you know needs a name change, please contact us by giving us a call at (813) 443-0615 or scheduling a Virtual Planning Meeting using the button below. We have offices in Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Sarasota, and we accept clients in all counties in Florida.
You are not alone. We can help.
