The Name Change of: James Patric Wages, Jr. v. State

We reverse the trial court’s dismissal of appellant’s amended petition for name change. The court thought the name change was being sought for a fraudulent purpose. Without holding an evidentiary hearing, the court could not dismiss this facially sufficient petition.

Wages was born in 1962 as James Solomon, the surname of his biological father and the name listed on his birth certificate. Shortly thereafter, Wages’ mother requested a social security number for her son and registered his name as James Patrie Wages, Jr., opting to use her husband’s surname rather than that of the biological…