Legal News

On Men, Nomenclature and the Law

By Ashby Jones

This is a post about men who want to change their names and the laws that limit them.

Michael Buday’s story: Californian Michael Buday (pictured, right) wanted to take the name of his wife, Diana Bijon (pictured, left), when they got married, explaining in this Reuters story that he felt closer to his wife’s father than he did to his own.

But it turned out, a simple name change was easier said than done. “He discovered it would take a $350 fee, court appearances, a public announcement and mounds of paperwork to make change on his driving license that is routine for women who marry,” reads the Reuters piece. Buday found it unfair, so he teamed up with the ACLU and sued.

The suit reportedly led to California changing its policy on name-changes, allowing both married couples and registered domestic partners to choose whichever last name they prefer on their marriage and driving licenses. Said Mark Rosenbaum, the legal director of the Southern California ACLU: “This disposes of the rule in California that the male surname is the marital name to the same trash bin where dowries were once tossed out,” said Mark Rosenbaum, legal director of the Southern California chapter of the ACLU.”

Steve Kreuscher’s Story: If we were going to change our name to words printed on U.S. currency, we’d like the ring of “E Pluribus Unum.” (We’d go by “Plury” for short, of course.) But Steve Kreuschner, of Zion, Ill., sees things differently: He’s hoping to change his name to “In God We Trust.” That’s right. First name: “In God”; last name: “We Trust.”

While Kreuschner, a Christian, says he’s no longer a member of any organized religion, he told the Chicago Daily Herald that the new name would suit him perfectly. “Going through an “extremely painful” divorce, bouts of severe depression, money problems and a life-threatening home invasion, he believes God protected him through it all,” reads the story. Says Kreuschner: “I’ve had to trust God through incredibly hard times.”

Thing is, his attorney, Alan Pearlman, isn’t sure if a judge will allow it, even though he’s not aware of any rule that would prohibit it. Pearlman says a judge can deny names that are racial slurs or considered obscene, violate trademarks, or duplicate the name of a celebrity. “I doubt a judge would let you change your name to Brad Pitt,” he said.

LB’ers: If a man named Frank can name his kids Moon Unit and Dweezil, what should stop a man named Steve from becoming In God We Trust?

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on May 05, 2008 (boomark / email).