The Answer is Straightforward
Video Transcribed:
Can the publication requirement for a petition for name change in Oklahoma be waived? I’m an attorney in Tulsa, Oklahoma, James Wirth and we’re talking about name changes in Oklahoma, specifically the publication requirement and can it be waived.
And the answer is yes, the statute was somewhat recently amended. And the statute that we’re talking about is title 12 section 1633, and that deals with the notice requirement requiring that it be published 10 days in advance of a hearing in a legal newspaper in the county where it’s been filed.
But it specifically states in part B there that the court may waive the publication requirements of this section for good cause, which includes but is not limited to cases of domestic violence in which the court proceedings are sealed.
So if there are issues regarding domestic violence, the person is trying to stay away from their abuser and the petitioner has been granted the authority for the proceedings to be sealed, then this allows that the party could request a waiver of the publication notice. And that is one example of the statute gives for a good cause.
Other than that though, that the statute does not define the good cause. So there may be other bases for you to argue that publication should be waived. Probably if the court is going to grant it, it’d be something similar to that.
That it’s for your safety, that you’re hiding out from various people that may be a danger to you and therefore don’t want to do it. So that could be a good cause but the statute doesn’t define it exactly. There’s no case law on it, defining it as of yet.
So the only example we have is domestic violence where the proceedings have been sealed and under those circumstances, we know by statute, that the notice requirement can be waived but there may be others.
So does your specific circumstances fall into one where you could have it waived? That’s a complicated question. You’re going to want to talk to an attorney privately about it. If you’d like to get a consult scheduled with an attorney with my office, you can do that by going to makelaweasy.com.
