You Can Do a Name Change Through Paternity Action
Video Transcribed: The five ways to legally change your name in Oklahoma. I’m an attorney in Oklahoma, James Wirth and we’re talking about name changes in Oklahoma and the various avenues to do so under Oklahoma law.
So there is a statute in Oklahoma that covers the change of name procedures, and essentially lists the different ways that you can get a name change. And then there’s the catch-all provision that falls under the statutory act. So what are the ways that you can do a name change?
First off is marriage. When you get married, you can take the name of your spouse. You can hyphenate, you have those options. And then ultimately goes on the marriage certificate, which is filed with the court. And then is used as an official document that can be used to update your driver’s license, social security card.
The other next way to do a name change in Oklahoma is a divorce. Similarly, when you get married, you might take on their name. When you get divorced, you have a right to be restored to not just your maiden name, but also a previous prior name.
And that is done as part of the disillusion of marriage document. That’s filed with the court. You can take certified copies of that to get your driver’s license updated, social security card updated. Next way to do a name change in Oklahoma, adoption.
So if you adopt someone, someone adopts you, you get a decree of adoption, that is a formal court document. Take a certified copy and the name of the person being adopted can take on the surname of the person adopting them. And that can be used to update birth certificate as well as for adult adoptions, maybe driver’s license, social security card, all of those things.
Next way you can do a name change in Oklahoma is a paternity action. So if you’ve got a child that’s born outside of a marriage, then the father can file a paternity action. Mom can file a paternity action.
Once paternity is established, any party can request a name change for the child to get the surname of the father. And that’s not required under the law. It’s based on the best interest standard, but name changes can be done through a paternity.
So, if you’re wanting to do a name change, get your name changed. If one of those four applies to you, then obviously that’s a route to go, but then we’ve got the catch-all provision and that’s the statutory one that goes through the rules for name change, and that can apply to anybody that wants a name change.
And that’s just simply a petition for name change that complies with the requirements of title 12, section 1631 at SEC, regarding name changes. So, if you are looking for a name change, have questions about which one you may fall into, or whether you qualify under that catch-all provision. You’re going to want to talk to an attorney about your specific circumstances. To get that scheduled, go to makelaweasy.com.
