| Chapter 163 |
| 2024 -- H 8155 SUBSTITUTE A Enacted 06/17/2024 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO PROBATE PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE -- PRACTICE IN PROBATE COURTS |
Introduced By: Representatives Craven, Caldwell, and McEntee |
| Date Introduced: April 10, 2024 |
| It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
| SECTION 1. Section 33-22-28 of the General Laws in Chapter 33-22 entitled "Practice in |
| Probate Courts" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
| 33-22-28. Name change. |
| (a) In every petition for change of name in the probate court, the judge shall grant or deny |
| the petition without consideration of presence or absence of spousal consent. The change of name |
| of a person shall be granted unless such change is sought for fraudulent purposes. |
| (b) A person may petition to change that person’s name in the probate court in the town or |
| city where the person resides. |
| (c) If a petitioner is indigent, or demonstrates a limited or inability to pay, the court costs |
| may be waived or reduced. |
| (d) Upon receipt of a petition to change name by an adult, the court may change the name |
| of that adult. The court shall not require public notice or publication before approving the name |
| change. |
| (e) The court may require a person seeking a name change to undergo a criminal history |
| record check. |
| (f) The court shall make and preserve a record of a name change. |
| (g) The court shall, at the request of the person or sua sponte, order the records, including |
| docket entries, of such name change proceedings sealed, to be opened only by order of the court |
| for good cause shown or at the request of the person, if the court finds that an open record of the |
| person’s name change would jeopardize such person’s safety based on the totality of the |
| circumstances. |
| (1) For the purpose of this section, “totality of the circumstances” shall include, but not be |
| limited to, a consideration of the risk of violence or discrimination against the person, including |
| the person’s status as transgender or as a survivor of domestic violence. |
| (2) The court shall not deny such sealing request solely on the basis that the person lacks |
| specific instances of or a personal history of threats to their personal safety. |
| (h) This statute is in addition to, and not in abrogation of, the common law. |
| SECTION 2. Section 15-5-17 of the General Laws in Chapter 15-5 entitled "Divorce and |
| Separation" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
| 15-5-17. Change of name. |
| Any woman person, to whom a divorce from the bond of marriage is decreed, shall, upon |
| request, be authorized by the decree to change her their name, notwithstanding that there may be |
| children born of the marriage, and subject to the same rights and liabilities as if her their name had |
| not been changed. This statute is in addition to, and not in abrogation of, the common law. |
| SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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| LC005876/SUB A |
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