First Appointment Next Week…

[Ma'at]

Well, it seemed to go well enough. My next appointment is in 4 months time where I'll be given an official diagnosis and, if I've changed my name by then and presenting as a woman, I'll be approved for HRT.

I'm somewhat familiar with the process of changing names, but it'd be good to hear from people's own experience. I've come across websites that claim they'll do all the heavy lifting for you, including contacting your bank and HMRC etc. Has anyone here done it that way?

My mother called yesterday to break her previous silence. She sounded upset - and although she didn't say as much - gave the impression that she's likely to try and talk me out of it when we next meet. That'll be fun

[Christine]

My experience changing my name is just that there was a lot of drudgery: nothing difficult, just a lot of it. Beyond the legal stuff (and it is worth spending a bit to make sure the deed or whatever is all in order) I wouldn't be inclined to pay anyone to do it for me. It was mostly straightforward, the only minor wrinkles were that financial institutions wanted a certified copy of my deed and tended to not return it afterwards, and insurers refused to recognise me as female without seeing my birth certificate (not sure of the legality of this, couldn't be bothered to find out). A couple of organisations were similarly difficult, such as trying to get a new exam certificate out of Edexcel, who claimed that they wouldn't change the name under any circumstances, but it turned out I was just asking the wrong person (that's covered in another post here) and BT, who weren't a surprise at all as I'd already some previous experience trying to get them to change the name of the line's previous owner and was met with quite a staggering degree of incompetence.

Potential pitfalls are things like passport and driving licence, but again there are guidelines here (somewhere!) including a standard letter that your GP can write for them which smooths out the process a lot.

Good luck with your mother! I imagine she'll get used to the idea sooner or later and that it'll be a matter of how long rather than if she does. And glad to hear the appointment went well.

[JustMe]

Hi Ma'at,

If you PM me, I will give you the Deed Poll service details I used (twice) and they have been very good. They will also provide Certified Copies for an additional cost (cheaper when you order the Deed Poll than later). You can then use the Certified Copies instead of sending off the original - these are what you can send to Insurance Companies etc (nearly all send them back). So I would only request 5 Certified Copies and even then, you will be unlikely to use them all.

When I did my Deed Poll, I made sure that I made it clear that my Title was to change as well (this helped an awful lot when it came to Driving License and Passport etc - it also helped when I showed it to the GIC).

Regarding Insurance, I state that I am female when I apply for insurance. All of my documentation shows I am female, I identify as female and Insurance Premiums are the same for both men and women now. However, for travel insurance - I will let them know that I am a transwoman just in case there are any complications while overseas.

Hope this helps.
Kerry x.

[Steffi]

This has of course cropped up before. I wrote here
viewtopic.php?f=12&t=1945&p=20985#p20985

Firstly, there are two ways to change your name - Deed Poll or Statutary Declaration.
Both can be done very inexpensively.
Stat Dec - you need the correct wording, which can be got from the internet and then you need a solicitor to sign it for you. They are limited to a charge of £5 for the service of signing a Stat Dec. It would make sense to get some extra copies marked Certified Copy and get him to sign them for you as well though no doubt that will be extra.

The Deed Poll - again you can get the wording off the internet and print it off yourself for free.
All you need then is a witness to sign it. This could even be a random neighbour, but it is sensible to get a professional of some kind to sign it for you - I used my local pharmacist.

The people who advertise deed-poll services have NO extra legal standing whatsoever. Their deed is no more valid than one you print off yourself. Only the wording matters and the fact that you and a witness have signed it. This can therefore be done essentially FREE. Obviously, if you ask your GP to sign it for you then you may well incur a charge, probably circa £25

For either of these documents -
You can get the wording for free but print it properly and permanently, i.e. a laser-printer rather than an inkjet which will run if it gets wet, and use a nice quality bond paper rather than just knocking it out on a piece of general office A4 ....although it would be just as legal, you want people to take it seriously so make it look good.

Change of title - titles have no legal standing and therefore cannot be legally changed. Anyone can call themselves Miss, Mr, Mrs as they choose. However, do include your new title when you fill in your Deed Poll because I know two people personally who subsequently got mail addressed to Mr Alice Maybe and the like.
Putting the title you wish to use e.g. Miss usually stops this happening.

Many places are happy to accept a simple photocopy but some will want to see a certified copy. Enclose an S.A.E. and a clear statement that you want your copy returning.
YOUR ORIGINAL IS AN IMPORTANT DOCUMENT - DON'T POST THAT IF YOU CAN AVOID IT

re your sex with DVLA and the passport office - it is not necessary that you have completed SRS. You can get everything changed without EXCEPT your birth certificate.
DVLA will change your name if you send a Deed Poll. To ensure that they also change your gender marker to female it is best to include a Dr's letter. This was a rigid requirement at one time, though in the last year or so I have seen people post that they got a changed gender-marker without.
The passport office WILL want the Dr's letter though.
I got the wording from an FTM board and I did post it on Transgenderzone at some time in the past - it is in the link at the top of this post.

Registration of a deed of change of name is not a legal requirement in the United Kingdom. A standard legal document, with stock wording, filled in by the person making the deed poll, and signed in presence of a witness, carries sufficient legal authority to be recognised. The witness need not be a solicitor but can be anyone over the age of 18 independent of the person changing their name.

from here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deed_of_change_of_name

This link has a link to the exact wording etc, though do read his instructions
http://www.gorge.org/experiences/deedpoll.shtml
or read this http://genderqueerintheuk.wordpress.com ... deed-poll/

Lots of similar links here https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=deed+ ... 1AX24oDgBg
(ignore the Pay sites ...... the links to doing it for free are there and more at the bottom)

[Casaluna]

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