Is there an allocated number of name changes allowed by the court?
A recent First District Court of Appeals decision held that a person can file a petition to change their name as many times as they would like.
In In Re: The Name Change of Jason Lane Merchant, Mr. Merchant originally filed for a name change and was denied. He filed for a name change again a second time and the family law trial court denied the second request for name change based upon the doctrine of Res Judicata. In general, the doctrine of res judiciata, holds that a person cannot be tried for the same thing twice. (It is a bit more nuanced than that, but in general a person cannot get two bites at the apple).
The appellate court found that because a petition for name change in Mr. Merchant’s case is a non-adversarial proceeding, the doctrine of Res Judicata cannot apply as there is only one party in a name change action. Additionally, the appellate court held that there is no statutory restriction on the number of times a person may file a request to change their name. Therefore the appellate court did not agree with the trial court and remanded the case back to the judge to consider the merits of Mr. Merchant’s name change.
The McKinney Law Group is well versed in the law regarding name changes and can help you change your name if you so desire, as many times as you want.
If you have any questions regarding family law or require legal assistance in other areas of Family Law you may always contact Damien McKinney of The McKinney Law Group to discuss your case further. He can be reached by phone at 813-428-3400 or by e-mail at [email protected].