Free INSTRUCTIONS FOR ADULT CHANGE OF NAME - Alaska

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ADULT CHANGE OF NAME

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Fill out the Petition and the Vital Statistics report form. Print or type the information, using black ink. a. Petition for Change of Name (CIV-700). On the "AT" line at the top of the form, write the city where the court is located. On the "Petitioner" line, write your current legal name. Leave the "CASE NO." line blank. Fill in the rest of the blanks. You must sign the form in front of a notary public and swear (or affirm) that all statements in it are true. A court clerk can provide this notary service for you (at no charge) when you bring the Petition to court. You must bring a photo ID with you for the notarization. b. Application or Report of Change of Name (VS-405). Fill in items 1though 8b. Sign and date the form where it asks for applicant's signature and date. The court clerk will fill in items 9 through 12, and sign and date the bottom of the form.

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Make a copy of the Petition for yourself. File the originals of both forms at the nearest superior court filing location (see list on page 4) and pay the $150 filing fee. If you cannot afford this fee, ask the clerk for form TF-920, Request for Exemption from Payment of Fees. Order for Hearing. The court clerk will then give or mail to you an Order For Hearing, Publication and Posting (CIV-701). This order will tell you (1) the date of your court hearing, (2) which newspaper you must use to publish notice, and (3) whether or not you must post the notice in addition to publishing it. The hearing date will be at least 40 days after the date of the Order. Publication of Notice. Take the Order to the newspaper listed in it right away, and tell the newspaper personnel that you need to publish the "Notice of Petition to Change Name" (at the bottom of the Order) in the legal notices section of their newspaper once each week for four consecutive weeks before the date of the court hearing. You will have to pay the newspaper for this service. Do not delay in doing this. All four publications of the notice must be completed before the court hearing. Civil Rule 84 AS 09.55.010

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Page 1 of 4 CIV-699 (10/07)(cs) INSTRUCTIONS FOR ADULT CHANGE OF NAME

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Affidavit of Publication. After the notice has been published all four times, the newspaper will give you an "Affidavit of Publication" which will contain a copy of the published notice and the dates when it was published. File this affidavit with the court before the court hearing. Posting. If the Order requires you to post the notice, you must make copies of the notice and post it in the places listed in the Order for the number of days stated in the Order. After posting is completed, fill out an Affidavit of Posting (court form CIV-702). Note: The Affidavit must be signed under oath or affirmation in front of a notary public by the person who did the posting. A court clerk can provide this notary service for you. File the original Affidavit with the court before the court hearing. Court Hearing. The hearing is usually short and fairly informal. You must tell the judge why you want to change your name, and assure the judge that you are not seeking to change your name in order to avoid debts or defraud anyone. Judgment For Change of Name. If the judge finds sufficient reasons for the change and also finds it consistent with the public interest, the judge will sign a judgment allowing you to take the new name. However, you cannot begin using the new name yet, because the judgment will not be effective until the following steps are completed. Publication of Notice of Judgment. The judgment will require you to publish a "Notice of Judgment" once in a newspaper. After publication, ask the newspaper for an "Affidavit of Publication" and file this Affidavit with the court. Posting of Notice of Judgment. If the judgment also requires you to post it, follow the judgment's instructions for posting. After posting is completed, fill out an Affidavit of Posting (court form CIV-702) and file it with the court. Certificate of Name Change. After you file proof of publication (and any required posting), the clerk will issue a Certificate of Name Change (CIV-705). You can begin using your new name on the date stated in the certificate. This date will be at least 30 days after the judgment was distributed. The clerk will give you two copies of the Certificate. One will be a free certified copy. If you need additional certified copies, there will be a charge for them. Administrative Rule 9(e)(2).

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Civil Rule 84 AS 09.55.010

Records to Change After changing your name, there are several records you will need to change too. Among them are the following: 1. Social Security. To avoid tax problems and help assure proper employment credit, you should notify the Social Security Administration of your name change. Toll free telephone number: 1-800-772-1213. Division of Motor Vehicles. If you have an Alaska driver's license or you own a vehicle registered in Alaska, you must send written notice of your name change to the Division of Motor Vehicles within 30 days. 1 Contact a DMV office to find out how the division wants to receive written notice. To get a new driver's license or Alaska Identification card, you will need to go to a DMV office and present a certified copy of the Certificate of Name Change. Vital Statistics. If you want a new birth certificate, contact the Vital Statistics office of the state in which you were born and pay their required fee. Other Records. You may also need to change your name on such other records as bank accounts, insurance policies, the Alaska PFD Division, etc.

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Statutes and Rules The Alaska Statutes and Alaska Court Rules about name changes are:

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Civil Rule 84, which establishes the procedure for changing names. Alaska Statute 09.55.010, which gives the superior court the power to hear these cases and sets the standard the court must use in deciding whether to grant a name change. Alaska Statute 25.24.165, which describes the procedure for changing a person's name in a divorce or dissolution of marriage. Also see AS 25.24.230(f) concerning dissolutions.

You can find the rules and statutes at all state courts, court law libraries, and many city libraries. The court rules are also on the court system's website: www.state.ak.us/courts/rules.htm The statutes are on the legislature's website: www.legis.state.ak.us/folhome.htm

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AS 28.05.071 and AS 28.35.135(b)

Page 3 of 4 CIV-699 (10/07)(cs) INSTRUCTIONS FOR ADULT CHANGE OF NAME

Civil Rule 84 AS 09.55.010

SUPERIOR COURT FILING LOCATIONS ANCHORAGE: 825 West 4th Avenue, Anchorage, AK 99501-2004 BARROW: BETHEL: CORDOVA: Box 270, Barrow, AK 99723-0270 Box 130, Bethel, AK 99559-0130 Box 898, Cordova, AK 99574-0898

DILLINGHAM: Box 909, Dillingham, AK 99576-0909 FAIRBANKS: 101 Lacey Street, Fairbanks, AK 99701-4765

GLENNALLEN: Box 86, Glennallen, AK 99588-0086 HOMER: JUNEAU: KENAI: KETCHIKAN: KODIAK: KOTZEBUE: NAKNEK: NOME: PALMER: 3670 Lake St., Suite 400, Homer, AK 99603-7686 Box 114100, Juneau, AK 99811-4100 125 Trading Bay Drive, Suite 100, Kenai, AK 99611-7717 415 Main St., Rm 400, Ketchikan, AK 99901-6399 204 Mission Road, Rm 10, Kodiak, AK 99615-7312 Box 317, Kotzebue, AK 99752-0317 Box 229, Naknek, AK 99633-0229 Box 1110, Nome, AK 99762-1110 435 S. Denali, Palmer, AK 99645-6437

PETERSBURG: Box 1009, Petersburg, AK 99833-1009 SEWARD: SITKA: UNALASKA VALDEZ: WRANGELL: Box 1929, Seward, AK 99664-1929 304 Lake St., Rm 203, Sitka, AK 99835-7759 Box 245, Unalaska, AK 99685-0245 Box 127, Valdez, AK 99686-0127 Box 869, Wrangell, AK 99929-0869

If your nearest court is not on this list, check with that court to find out if a petition for name change can be filed there.
Page 4 of 4 CIV-699 (10/07)(cs) INSTRUCTIONS FOR ADULT CHANGE OF NAME Civil Rule 84 AS 09.55.010