Bill Text: MI SB0685 | 2009-2010 | 95th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Probate; other; name change; establish citizenship requirement and require proof of citizenship and residency. Amends sec. 1, ch. XI of 1939 PA 288 (MCL 711.1). TIE BAR WITH: SB 0686'09
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-07-15 - Referred To Committee On Judiciary [SB0685 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2009-SB0685-Introduced.html
SENATE BILL No. 685
July 15, 2009, Introduced by Senator GEORGE and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
A bill to amend 1939 PA 288, entitled
"Probate code of 1939,"
by amending section 1 of chapter XI (MCL 711.1), as amended by 2000
PA 111.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
CHAPTER XI
Sec. 1. (1) The family division of the circuit court for a
county may enter an order to change the name of an individual who
is a citizen of the United States, who has been a resident of the
county for not less than 1 year, and who in accordance with
subsection (2) petitions in writing to the court for that purpose
showing a sufficient reason for the proposed change and that the
change is not sought with a fraudulent intent. If the individual
who petitions for a name change has a criminal record, the
individual is presumed to be seeking a name change with a
fraudulent intent. The burden of proof is on a petitioner who has a
criminal record to rebut the presumption. The court shall set a
time and place for hearing and, except as provided in section 3 of
this chapter, order publication as provided by supreme court rule.
(2)
An individual who is 22 18
years of age or older and who
petitions to have his or her name changed shall have 2 complete
sets of his or her fingerprints taken at a local police agency. The
fingerprints,
along with a copy of the petition, and the required
processing
fees , shall
be forwarded to the department of state
police. The department of state police shall compare those
fingerprints with its records and shall forward a complete set of
fingerprints to the federal bureau of investigation for a
comparison with the records available to that agency. The
department of state police shall report to the court in which the
petition is filed the information contained in the department's
records with respect to any pending charges against the petitioner
or a record of conviction of the petitioner and shall report to the
court similar information obtained from the federal bureau of
investigation. If there are no pending charges or record of
conviction against the petitioner, the department of state police
shall destroy its copy of the petitioner's fingerprints. The court
shall not act upon the petition for a name change until the
department of state police reports the information required by this
subsection to the court.
(3) At the hearing on a petition filed under this section, the
petitioner has the burden of proving that the petitioner is a
citizen of the United States and has been a resident of the county
for at least 1 year as required by subsection (1).
(4) (3)
If the court enters an order to
change the name of an
individual who has a criminal record, the court shall forward the
order to the central records division of the Michigan state police
and to 1 or more of the following:
(a) The department of corrections if the individual named in
the order is in prison or on parole or has been imprisoned or
released from parole in the immediately preceding 2 years.
(b) The sheriff of the county in which the individual named in
the order was last convicted if the individual was incarcerated in
a county jail or released from a county jail within the immediately
preceding 2 years.
(c) The court that has jurisdiction over the individual named
in the order if the individual named in the order is under the
jurisdiction of the family division of the circuit court or has
been discharged from the jurisdiction of that court within the
immediately preceding 2 years.
(5) (4)
The court may permit an individual having
whose name
is
the same name, as or a
similar name to that which the name the
petitioner
proposes to assume , to
intervene in the proceeding for
the purpose of showing fraudulent intent.
(6) (5)
Except as provided in subsection (7)
(8), if the
petitioner is a minor, the petition shall be signed by the mother
and father jointly; by the surviving parent if 1 is deceased; if
both parents are deceased, by the guardian of the minor; or by 1 of
the minor's parents if there is only 1 legal parent available to
give consent. If either parent has been declared mentally
incompetent, the petition may be signed by the guardian for that
parent. The written consent to the change of name of a minor 14
years of age or older, signed by the minor in the presence of the
court, shall be filed with the court before an order changing the
name of the minor is entered. If the court considers the child to
be of sufficient age to express a preference, the court shall
consult a minor under 14 years of age as to a change in his or her
name, and the court shall consider the minor's wishes.
(7) (6)
If the petitioner is married, the
court, in its order
changing the name of the petitioner, may include the name of the
spouse, if the spouse consents, and may include the names of minor
children of the petitioner of whom the petitioner has legal
custody. The written consent to the change of name of a child 14
years of age or older, signed by the child in the presence of the
court, shall be filed with the court before the court includes that
child
in its order. Except as provided in subsection (7) (8),
the
name of a minor under 14 years of age may not be changed unless he
or she is the natural or adopted child of the petitioner and unless
consent is obtained from the mother and father jointly, from the
surviving parent if 1 is deceased, or from 1 of the minor's parents
if there is only 1 legal parent available to give consent. If the
court considers the child to be of sufficient age to express a
preference, the court shall consult a minor under 14 years of age
as to a change in his or her name, and the court shall consider the
minor's wishes.
(8) (7)
The name of a minor may be changed
pursuant to
subsection
(5) or (6) or (7) with the consent or signature of the
custodial parent upon notice to the noncustodial parent as provided
in supreme court rule and after a hearing in either of the
following circumstances:
(a) If both of the following occur:
(i) The other parent, having the ability to support or assist
in supporting the child, has failed or neglected to provide regular
and substantial support for the child or, if a support order has
been
entered, has failed to substantially comply with the order ,
for 2 years or more before the filing of the petition.
(ii) The other parent, having the ability to visit, contact, or
communicate with the child, has regularly and substantially failed
or neglected to do so for 2 years or more before the filing of the
petition.
(b) The other parent has been convicted of a violation of
section 136b, 520b, 520c, 520d, 520e, or 520g of the Michigan penal
code, 1931 PA 328, MCL 750.136b, 750.520b to 750.520e, and
750.520g, and the child or a sibling of the child is a victim of
the crime.
(9) (8)
A An individual who
intentionally includes a false
statement
that is intentionally included within in a petition for a
name
change constitutes under
this section commits perjury under
section 422 of the Michigan penal code, 1931 PA 328, MCL 750.422.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days
after the date it is enacted into law.
Enacting section 2. This amendatory act does not take effect
unless Senate Bill No. 686
of the 95th Legislature is enacted into law.
