Legal Question in Family Law in Illinois
Changing Name Back To A Previous Legal Name
My younger sister and I were both born with our father's given name, let's say it was ''Smith.'' Our parents divorced when we were very young, and when my mom remarried, we were adopted my our new stepfather,nd they changed our last names to his, say ''Jones.'' My mother and legal father (read: step-father) divorced when we were in middle school, and we have both wanted to change our names back to Smith from Jones since then,but were not able to do so since we were not of legal age. We are both still his adopted children, and are fine with that,but want our names to be changed back, as we were not really raised by him and my mother did go back to her maiden name after they divorced as well.I've done quite a bit of research on how to go about getting your name changed, and while I am willing to fill out the paperwork and all that,I can't help but wonder if there is an easier way to do this, since I am
going back to a name that was previously my legal name and is on my original birth certificate (although I did receive a new birth certificate with my adopted name,and still have both). Do I have to go about this like I am getting a brand new name, or is there an easier way since it was my original name and waschanged when I was a minor?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Changing Name Back To A Previous Legal Name
Hello. In my opinion, you have to do it again.
In other words, you have got to legally change
your name. I do not see any short cut options.
When your step dad adopted you, that change of
name process was legally done. Undoing it also
is a legal process. By law you will also have
to publish so that any creditors that you have
will know that you are changing your name. If
you have any more questions, I will be happy to
answer them.
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