The City of Fort Lauderdale is a diverse area home to one of the highest concentrations of same-sex households and LGBTQ-owned businesses. The City of Wilton Manors (also in Broward county, directly adjacent to Fort Lauderdale) is known as “South Florida’s most famous ‘Gayborhood’” and a place in which “gay history is made.” Given this fact, Fort Lauderdale is also filled with resources to help this community thrive, including a Pride Center, community center, Chamber of Commerce, travel association, Stonewall museums, health centers, arts associations, and many more.
One specific South Florida LGBTQ+ resource is the Florida Bar’s Gender Marker and Name Change Committee, a committee which Mark E. Sawicki, P.A. sits on, with name changes being one of his main specialties. While name changes can also be relevant to divorce and custody conflicts, they are a huge necessity for people who are transitioning. Especially given Fort Lauderdale’s LGBTQ presence, gender identification is extremely important and gender-specific names must be able to be changed if necessary.
For example, one question that we recently addressed was that of a transgender man who needed to change his name to match his gender identity, but was worried that any kind of past felony charge may impede the name and gender marker change process. This is an instance in which Mark E. Sawicki, P.A. can help — these name and gender marker changes require extensive procedures, including obtaining fingerprints, conducting background checks, and considering prior charges.
The process is a grueling one, no matter what your background entails — there are a lot of steps involved and a multitude of paperwork to complete. If you have the means to hire legal counsel to help you out, oversee the process, and fight to protect your rights, it will definitely benefit you physically and emotionally. Talk to Mark E. Sawicki, P.A. for a free consultation regarding your gender and name change needs.