Name Changes in Probate Court (H 8155, S 2667)

This bill addressed probate court practices for hearing name change petitions, and in doing so, established a standard for sealing name change petition requests if there is good cause to believe it otherwise might jeopardize the person’s safety and authorizes the waiving of court fees for indigent petitioners. The ACLU of RI strongly supported these goals, but added that two amendments should be made in order to ensure that the legislation does not inadvertently alter a person’s long-standing right to change their name for non-fraudulent purposes.