§ 61 — Contents

§ 61. Contents. 1. The petition shall be in writing, signed by the\npetitioner and verified in like manner as a pleading in a court of\nrecord, and shall specify the grounds of the application, the name, date\nof birth, place of birth, age and residence of the individual whose name\nis proposed to be changed and the name which he or she proposes to\nassume. The petition shall also specify (a) whether or not the\npetitioner has been convicted of a crime or adjudicated a bankrupt; (b)\nwhether or not there are any judgments or liens of record against the\npetitioner or actions or proceedings pending to which the petitioner is\na party, and, if so, the petitioner shall give descriptive details in\nconnection therewith sufficient to readily identify the matter referred\nto; (c) whether or not the petitioner is responsible for child support\nobligations; (d) whether or not the petitioner's child support\nobligations have been satisfied and are up to date; (e) the amount of a\nchild support arrearage that currently is outstanding along with the\nidentity of the court which issued the support order and the county\nchild support collections unit; (f) whether or not the petitioner is\nresponsible for spousal support obligations; (g) whether or not the\npetitioner's spousal support obligations have been satisfied and are up\nto date; and (h) the amount of spousal support arrearage that currently\nis outstanding along with the identity of the court which issued the\nsupport order.\n 2. If the petitioner stands convicted of a violent felony offense as\ndefined in section 70.02 of the penal law or a felony defined in article\none hundred twenty-five of such law or any of the following provisions\nof such law sections 130.25, 130.30, 130.40, 130.45, 255.25, 255.26,\n255.27, article two hundred sixty-three, 135.10, 135.25, 230.05, 230.06,\nsubdivision two of section 230.30 or 230.32, and is currently confined\nas an incarcerated individual in any correctional facility or currently\nunder the supervision of the department of corrections and community\nsupervision or a county probation department as a result of such\nconviction, the petition shall for each such conviction specify such\nfelony conviction, the date of such conviction or convictions, and the\ncourt in which such conviction or convictions were entered.\n 3. Upon all applications for change of name by persons born in the\nstate of New York, there shall be annexed to such petition either a\nbirth certificate or a certified transcript thereof or a certificate of\nthe commissioner or local board of health that none is available.\n