Staros, In re
| Decision Date | 27 June 1979 |
| Docket Number | No. 62342,62342 |
| Citation | 280 N.W.2d 409 |
| Parties | In re the Name of Arwen Marie STAROS, Petitioner, by her next friend, Patricia B. Sheppard, Appellant. |
| Court | Iowa Supreme Court |
Sharon A. Mellon of Student Legal Services, Iowa City, and Mary E. W. Robinson, Cedar Rapids, for appellant.
Bruce Washburn, Iowa City, guardian ad litem for petitioner child.
James V. Staros, natural father of petitioner child, pro se.
Considered by REYNOLDSON, C. J., and LeGRAND, REES, HARRIS and ALLBEE, JJ.
This appeal is brought by Patricia B. Sheppard, the mother and next friend of Arwen Marie Staros, a minor, from the order of the trial court dismissing her petition to change the minor's name to Arwen Marie Sheppard-Staros. We conclude chapter 674, The Code 1977, under which the action was brought, does not permit the granting of the relief sought, and affirm the trial court.
The sole issue involved in this case is whether the district court erred in dismissing the petition for change of name of Arwen Marie Staros brought by her mother as next friend. The district court concluded that minors and/or persons under civil disability are not authorized to petition for a change of name under existing Iowa law and that § 674.1, The Code 1977, thus did not permit the court to reach the merits of the petition.
The appellant, Patricia B. Sheppard, was divorced from James V. Staros in April of 1975. Ms. Sheppard was awarded custody of the couple's daughter, Arwen Marie. The mother later had her name changed to Patricia Bruno Sheppard in April of 1976. At that time Ms. Sheppard also desired to change the name of her minor daughter but felt she was unable to do so due to the lack of the father's consent.
Chapter 674, The Code 1977, was amended by the 67th General Assembly to permit a change in a minor's name without the consent of both parents if the court found the change appropriate. Section 674.6, The Code 1977. As the petitioner's next friend, Ms. Sheppard filed an application for change of name on behalf of her minor daughter on April 4, 1978, requesting that petitioner's name be changed from Arwen Marie Staros to Arwen Marie Sheppard-Staros.
Upon receipt of notice of the application for change of name, the natural father of the child, James V. Staros, directed a letter to the Johnson County clerk of court objecting to the change of name and requesting that he be afforded a hearing on the matter.
Hearing was held on July 14, 1978, and an order issued the same day dismissing the petition. The district court concluded that § 674.1, The Code 1977, prohibited minors from petitioning for a change of name. Therefore the merits of the petitioner's application for change of name could not be reached. Ms. Sheppard filed a timely appeal from the order of the district court. We address only the issue as to whether the court was correct in entering the order of dismissal.
As this is a matter sounding in equity, our review is de novo. Iowa R.App.P. 4.
I. Section 674.1, on which the district court relied, states: "Any person under no civil disabilities, who has attained his or her majority, desiring to change his or her name, may do so by filing a verified petition as provided in this chapter." It is clear from the language of the statute that a minor may not petition in his or her own right for a change of name.
Ms. Sheppard contends that her petition, brought under her relationship as next friend of Arwen Marie Staros, is authorized by rule 12, Iowa R.Civ.P. Rule 12 states that an action of a minor shall be brought by his or her guardian or next friend. She further argues, in effect, that § 674.1, The Code, merely restates the proposition that minors or infants are under a civil disability to conduct their own legal proceedings and that rule 12 allows them to appear by one acting in their interest who is not under a civil disability. In re Beghtel's Estate, 236 Iowa 953, 957-58, 20 N.W.2d 421, 423-24 (1945).
The district court found support, as do we, for its conclusion in the provisions of § 674.6, The Code 1977, which it construed as providing the sole means by which a minor's name could be changed. That statute provides for the change of a minor's name only in the context of a change in name of one of the minor's parents:
If the petitioner includes a minor child under fourteen in the petition filed in accordance with this chapter, both parents as stated on the birth certificate of the minor child shall file their written consent for the name change. If both parents do not file their consent, the court shall decide the appropriateness of the change of the minor child's name.
If the legislature had intended s674.1 to allow the guardian or next friend of a minor to bring an action for change of name on behalf of a minor or one under a civil disability, it would have enacted other provisions regarding the manner in which such a change could be effectuated. Our evaluation of the statute as a whole leads us to the result reached by the district court regarding legislative intent. We can but conclude that the only opportunity for a change of name which chapter 674 affords a minor is coincident with the name change of one of the minor's parents. Such is not the case here.
Were it not for the limitation inherent in chapter 674 regarding minors, petitioner's action would be authorized by rule 12 of the Iowa Rules of Civil Procedure. The legislature has provided some guidance in construing conflicting code sections in § 4.7, The Code, which provides in relevant part: "If the conflict between the provisions is irreconcilable, the special or local provision prevails as an exception to the general provision." This statute is consistent with our judicially established rules of construction. Doe v. Ray, 251 N.W.2d 496, 501 (Iowa 1977). The provisions of ch. 674 are the most specific of the conflicting statutes and thus prevail. The district court did not err in dismissing this petition brought under ch. 674.
We are cognizant that only one other jurisdiction, New Mexico (N.M.Stat.Ann. § 40-8-1), does not allow a minor to obtain a change of name regardless of whether the action is brought by the...
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