What is the process to legally change my name, and how long does it take?
State laws can regulate name changes in the United States; still, they cannot altogether forbid common law name changes. Several specific federal court rulings have set precedents regarding both court decreed name changes and common law name changes (changing your name “at will”). One may be employed, do business, and enter into other contracts, and sue and be sued under any name they choose at will (Lindon v. First National Bank 10 F. 894, Coppage v. Kansas 236 U.S. 1, In re McUlta 189 F. 250). Such a change carries the exact same legal weight as a court decreed name change as long as it is not done with fraudulent intent (In re McUlta 189 F. 250, Christianson v. King County 196 F. 791, United States v. McKay 2 F.2d 257). This at will right is guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution, specifically the Fourteenth Amendment (Jech v. Burch 466 F.Supp. 714). The federal courts have overwhelmingly ruled that changing one’s name at will, by common law, is clearly one’s constitutional right. N
