How long will it take for me to change my surname?

Question

My parents are still in the early stages of divorce and I am going to change my surname. I will not adopt my mother's maiden name, but a name of entirely my own choice. My father plays no parental role in my life. How long might this process take?

Answer 1

It really depends on where you live. I'd bet on at least a month, though. You have to file the paperwork and, in most cases, have a court date.

I changed my last name when I was 15. I was enrolled in school with my father's last name, but I legally had my mom's maiden name.

After filing the paperwork, we had a court date set. It only took maybe fiften minutes at court--the judge asked why I was changing my name. I answered. He smiled. Said congratulations.

And that was that.

Answer 2

This would be specific to the country/state etc of where you will change your name.

Most court cases such as this take about 4 to 6 weeks.  Sometimes, there's a waiting period for the person to think about it or for someone to contest the court action