HOUSE BILL No. 4128

 

 

February 5, 2019, Introduced by Rep. Miller and referred to the Committee on Families, Children, and Seniors.

 

     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

 

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 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 must 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 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. 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) 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 department of

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.

 

     (4) The court may permit an individual having the same name,

 

or a similar name to that which the petitioner proposes to assume,

 

to intervene in the proceeding for the purpose of showing

 

fraudulent intent.

 

     (5) Except as provided in subsection (7), if the petitioner is

 

a minor, the petition shall must 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 must 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.

 

     (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 must be filed with the court before the court includes

 

that child in its order. Except as provided in subsection (7), 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.

 

     (7) The name of a minor may be changed pursuant to subsection

 

(5) or (6) 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 any 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.

 

     (c) The other parent has been convicted of a violation of

 

section 316 or 317 of the Michigan penal code, 1931 PA 328, MCL

 

750.316 and 750.317.

 

     (8) A false statement that is intentionally included within a

 

petition for a name change constitutes 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.