Navigating the Legal System—Name and Gender Marker Changes Without a Lawyer
Binary to Binary: A Gender Transition Roadmap
by Susanna Blake, Part 5
Click here to read Part 4.
Legal Gender and Name Change
I can’t tell you how lucky I was to have the mentor I met at my first PTWC. She happened to live in the same county in Pennsylvania as Caroline. She took the time to write a seven-page document on how to save tons of money by not hiring an attorney to file the required paperwork for a legal name change at the County Court of Common Pleas. With or without the benefit of an attorney, this is at least a three-month process. This document also included detailed directions for updating her Social Security card, passport, driver’s license, and car title, after having the certified court document in hand at the end of the court proceedings.
In addition to changing her name and gender at local, state, and federal levels, Caroline wanted to have her birth certificate updated in her birth state of Oklahoma. This was quite difficult since it required a court order including the gender change. Pennsylvania does not include gender changes in their court orders. Extra paperwork—also without the expensive guidance of an attorney—seemed to be the only approach.
However, while Caroline was at the courtroom podium, the judge balked when he spotted the paperwork for a gender change. He said that “we don’t do this.” Seated in the gallery behind the bar, I started waving my hands wildly in the air. The judge asked why. I said, “I have her Power of Attorney and I need to talk to you.” He said that I was not an attorney. I replied that I still needed to talk to him. He instructed the Bailiff to bring Caroline and me up for a sidebar.
I explained that Oklahoma, unlike Pennsylvania, only recognized gender changes via a court order. He said he would take it under advisement. I forgot to address the judge by saying “Your Honor,” but otherwise, watching all of those episodes on Law and Order prepared me for this moment! The next day we were informed that the judge granted her a gender change—a feat I am proud of to this day.
Unfortunately, I think her birth state no longer allows updates to their birth certificates. Caroline’s updated birth certificate does include fine print at the bottom detailing in exactly which court, on which day, and which judge authorized the gender and name change.
Updating Every Document and Choosing a Name
With certified copies of her court order in hand, I went on to notify colleges, financial institutions, credit card companies, her insurance companies, utilities, and even the Selective Service. Her voter registration required an update, as did her Midwest high school. The list goes on. All of this was possible for me to carry out since we met with an attorney to update my Power of Attorney for all of Caroline’s affairs and Health Care Power of Attorney as well.
One of the fun activities, for me at least, was helping Caroline choose a new name. She had been using a name in online games that was too close to her brother’s name, even though it was obviously female. She nixed that idea, so I suggested that she pick another first name that would not likely be mistaken for a male name.
I also asked if she wanted to drop our family last name and she said there was no point in bothering since, with a few keystrokes on the internet, a curious person could determine that she started out as a male. I drew up a list of 25 female names that went well with our surname. She did not like a single name on my list.
She picked a feminine name from a Japanese anime character she admired, then I went home and drew up a short list of middle names that would flow well between the first and last. This time I hit the jackpot… she liked two of them equally well and insisted that I decide, which I did.
Part 6: Fighting for Coverage—Navigating Insurance for Gender-Affirming Surgery
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