| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to change of name; amending s. 68.07, |
| 3 | F.S.; requiring that a petition for a change of name |
| 4 | include two sets of fingerprints and a processing fee; |
| 5 | providing duties of the clerk of the court with respect to |
| 6 | forwarding sets of fingerprints to the Department of Law |
| 7 | Enforcement for purposes of the state and national |
| 8 | criminal history records check and for duties following |
| 9 | the granting of a petition; revising when hearings on |
| 10 | certain change of name petitions may occur; providing an |
| 11 | effective date. |
| 12 |
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| 13 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 14 |
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| 15 | Section 1. Section 68.07, Florida Statutes, is amended to |
| 16 | read: |
| 17 | 68.07 Change of name.-- |
| 18 | (1) Chancery courts have jurisdiction to change the name |
| 19 | of any person residing in this state on petition of the person |
| 20 | filed in the county in which he or she resides. |
| 21 | (2) The petition must shall include two sets a set of the |
| 22 | petitioner's fingerprints taken by a law enforcement agency, |
| 23 | along with the fingerprint processing fee, except where a former |
| 24 | name is being restored. The clerk of the court shall forward one |
| 25 | set of fingerprints to the Department of Law Enforcement for a |
| 26 | state and national criminal history records check, the results |
| 27 | of which shall be returned to the clerk for use by the court in |
| 28 | determining whether to grant the petition. The fee for this |
| 29 | processing is the fee established by s. 943.053 for the state |
| 30 | criminal history records check plus the fee established by the |
| 31 | Federal Bureau of Investigation for the national criminal |
| 32 | history records check. The second set of fingerprints shall be |
| 33 | retained by the clerk to be forwarded to the Department of Law |
| 34 | Enforcement, along with the report of the judgment, if the |
| 35 | petition is granted. The petition shall and be verified and |
| 36 | show: |
| 37 | (a) That the petitioner is a bona fide resident of and |
| 38 | domiciled in the county where the change of name is sought. |
| 39 | (b) If known, the date and place of birth of the |
| 40 | petitioner, the petitioner's father's name, the petitioner's |
| 41 | mother's maiden name, and where the petitioner has resided since |
| 42 | birth. |
| 43 | (c) If the petitioner is married, the name of the |
| 44 | petitioner's spouse and if the petitioner has children, the |
| 45 | names and ages of each and where they reside. |
| 46 | (d) If the petitioner's name has previously been changed |
| 47 | and when and where and by what court. |
| 48 | (e) The petitioner's occupation and where the petitioner |
| 49 | is employed and has been employed for 5 years next preceding |
| 50 | filing of the petition. If the petitioner owns and operates a |
| 51 | business, the name and place of it shall be stated and the |
| 52 | petitioner's connection therewith and how long the petitioner |
| 53 | has been identified with that said business. If the petitioner |
| 54 | is in a profession, the profession shall be stated, where the |
| 55 | petitioner has practiced the profession and if a graduate of a |
| 56 | school or schools, the name or names thereof, time of |
| 57 | graduation, and degrees received. |
| 58 | (f) Whether the petitioner has been generally known or |
| 59 | called by any other names and if so, by what names and where. |
| 60 | (g) Whether the petitioner has ever been adjudicated a |
| 61 | bankrupt and if so, where and when. |
| 62 | (h) Whether the petitioner has ever been arrested for or |
| 63 | charged with, pled guilty or nolo contendere to, or been found |
| 64 | to have committed a criminal offense, regardless of |
| 65 | adjudication, and if so, when and where. |
| 66 | (i) Whether any money judgment has ever been entered |
| 67 | against the petitioner and if so, the name of the judgment |
| 68 | creditor, the amount and date thereof, the court by which |
| 69 | entered, and whether the judgment has been satisfied. |
| 70 | (j) That the petition is filed for no ulterior or illegal |
| 71 | purpose and granting it will not in any manner invade the |
| 72 | property rights of others, whether partnership, patent, good |
| 73 | will, privacy, trademark, or otherwise. |
| 74 | (k) That the petitioner's civil rights have never been |
| 75 | suspended, or if the petitioner's civil rights have been |
| 76 | suspended, that full restoration of civil rights has occurred. |
| 77 | (3) The hearing on a the petition for restoring a former |
| 78 | name may be held immediately after it is filed. When a criminal |
| 79 | history records check is required, the hearing on the petition |
| 80 | may be held immediately after the results are returned to the |
| 81 | clerk. |
| 82 | (4) On filing the final judgment, the clerk must shall, if |
| 83 | the birth occurred in this state, send a report of the judgment |
| 84 | to the Office of Vital Statistics of the Department of Health on |
| 85 | a form to be furnished by the department. The form shall contain |
| 86 | sufficient information to identify the original birth |
| 87 | certificate of the person, the new name, and the file number of |
| 88 | the judgment. This report shall be filed by the department with |
| 89 | respect to a person born in this state and shall become a part |
| 90 | of the vital statistics of this state. With respect to a person |
| 91 | born in another state, the clerk shall provide the petitioner |
| 92 | with a certified copy of the final judgment. |
| 93 | (5) The clerk must, upon the filing of the final judgment, |
| 94 | send a report of the judgment to the Department of Law |
| 95 | Enforcement on a form to be furnished by that department. The |
| 96 | Department of Law Enforcement must send a copy of the report to |
| 97 | the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, which may |
| 98 | be delivered by electronic transmission. The report must contain |
| 99 | sufficient information to identify the petitioner, including a |
| 100 | set of the petitioner's fingerprints taken by a law enforcement |
| 101 | agency, the new name of the petitioner, and the file number of |
| 102 | the judgment. Any information retained by the Department of Law |
| 103 | Enforcement and the Department of Highway Safety and Motor |
| 104 | Vehicles may be revised or supplemented by said departments to |
| 105 | reflect changes made by the final judgment. With respect to a |
| 106 | person convicted of a felony in another state or of a federal |
| 107 | offense, the Department of Law Enforcement must send the report |
| 108 | to the respective state's office of law enforcement records or |
| 109 | to the office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The |
| 110 | Department of Law Enforcement may forward the report to any |
| 111 | other law enforcement agency it believes may retain information |
| 112 | related to the petitioner. Any costs associated with |
| 113 | fingerprinting must be paid by the petitioner. |
| 114 | (6) A husband and wife and minor children may join in one |
| 115 | petition for change of name and the petition must shall show the |
| 116 | facts required of a petitioner as to the husband and wife and |
| 117 | the names of the minor children may be changed at the discretion |
| 118 | of the court. |
| 119 | (7) When only one parent petitions for a change of name of |
| 120 | a minor child, process shall be served on the other parent and |
| 121 | proof of such service shall be filed in the cause; provided, |
| 122 | however, if that where the other parent is a nonresident, |
| 123 | constructive notice of the petition may be given pursuant to |
| 124 | chapter 49, and proof of publication shall be filed in the cause |
| 125 | without the necessity of recordation. |
| 126 | (8) This section does not apply Nothing herein applies to |
| 127 | any change of name in proceedings for dissolution of marriage or |
| 128 | for adoption of children. |
| 129 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007. |