What Forms Do I Need to Change a Name in New Jersey?
Filling out the correct forms and sending them in the appropriate manner may be the difference between changing your name quickly and having the courts return your paperwork without reviewing it. When sending original documents to the court, you should always make copies for your records and make sure to send the originals using certified mail with return receipts. New Jersey requires a $200 filing fee for a name change as of April 2011, but the court may consider waiving it in certain cases.
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Verified Complaint
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Your Verified Complaint tells the court exactly what your case involves. Facts include what your name is, what you want your name to be and why you want to change your name. You also need to inform the courts of any pending criminal or civil court cases you have pending in your complaint so a judge ensures you are not attempting to circumvent the ruling of another court. You must also include a certification stating that, as far as you know, all the information the complaint contains is true and complete.
Order Fixing Date of Hearing and Final Judgment
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The Order Fixing Date of Hearing and the Final Judgment forms are two separate documents you will need to fill out and return to the courts by certified mail. You only complete a part of these forms--instructions will show you what to do--and the judge completes the rest at the appropriate point during the case. With your Order Fixing Date of Hearing, you need to include a self-addressed, stamped envelope so that the court can return the form giving you the date of your court appearance and the name of a newspaper in which you must post the court date.
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Civil Case Information Statement (CIS)
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The CIS form summarizes your case for the court. The New Jersey Judiciary website offers users these forms and instructions in its Represent Yourself in Court (Pro Se) Self-Help Resource Center. You need to indicate if you have any special requests, such as the need for an interpreter. Other information you have to include is your name, where the court can reach you during the day and an address where documents will reach you. Without this form, the court will return your paperwork without review.
Affidavit of Publication
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You have to publish the Order Fixing Date of Hearing in the newspaper listed by the order, and the newspaper must publish the date at least two weeks before the date of the hearing. You can ask the newspaper how it handles publishing legal notices. Once the publication runs the date of the hearing, the newspaper will send you an Affidavit of Publication. You must send the original document to the court via certified mail as soon as you receive it. This is proof that you fulfilled your duty to publish the information in the newspaper chosen by the court.
Proof of Mailing
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Once you send copies of the Verified Complaint and the signed Order Fixing Date for Hearing, you will receive a receipt from the post office stating the document was received. This is a green card in New Jersey, called a certified mail receipt. You have to prove you mailed the required forms to the court hearing your name change case and any other courts with criminal or civil matters which involve you. Collect all the certified mail receipts from every court and interested party you sent a copy of the complaint and order with the completed Proof of Mailing Form.
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References
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