HomeMy WebLinkAbout94-02794
~,
f
~
,~
a
1
.'~
~ .
')
.
tl
t~ I
-I
-I
'''1
JI
~
\)'
('-
co
.
IN REI CHANGE OF NAME OF I
NATHAN TREVOR ARMOLD I
I
I
I
I
IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF
CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
CIVIL ACTION - LAW
NO. 94-2794 CIVIL TERM
IN REI CHANGE OF MINOR'S NAME
BEFORE OLER. J.
OPINION and ORDER OF COURT
Oler, J.
This case was commenced by the filing of a petition by a
mother for change of name with reepect to her minor son. A hearing
on the petition was held on Monday, Auguet 1, 1994. Based upon the
evidence presented at the hearing and upon applicable caee law, the
petition will be granted.
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. Petitioner ie Suzanne Michele Cresswell, an adult
individual residing at 8 Monarch Lane, Mechanicsburg, Cumberland
County, Penneylvania.1
2. The eubject of the petition for change of name is
Petitioner's son, Nathan Trevor Armold, a five-year-old child born
on July 31, 1989, and residing with Petitioner at 8 Monarch Lane,
Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. a
3. Petitioner's hueband is Scott Brian Creeewell, an adult
individual residing with Petitioner and her son at 8 Monarch Lane,
Mechaniceburg, Cumberland County, pennsylvania;1 Petitioner and
a
N.T. 6, Hearing, Auguet 1, 1994 (hereinafter N.T. ___I.
N.T. 6, 8.
N.T. 11-12.
1
IN REI ARMOLD
94-2794 CIVIL TERM
her hueband were married in May of 1994 -- a firet marriage for
each and Petitioner assumed her husband'e name..
4. The natural father of Petitioner's eon is David Lester
Miller, an adult individual residing at 2B43 Deer Chase Lane, York,
York County, Pennsylvania.~
5. Petitioner and the natural father were never married,.
their eon was born out of wedlock, 7 he was given Petitioner I s
maiden name of Armold,. and he has never ueed the name of his
natural father.'
6. Petitioner'e reason for seeking a change of name for her
child wae expreeeed at the hearing by her as follows:
Nathan is beginning to enter school this
Auguet, and for echool purpoeee of how he will
be seen to the public, and I plan to be in
attendance with Nathan ae a room mother, I
felt it was in Nathan' e best interest to be
seen as a unit of my family, that we had the
same last name. Scott and I have diecussed
it. We would like to have other children, and
we don't want Nathan to feel like an outeider
with our other children by having a different
last name. And we'd like to show a full
family unit of all of ua residing with the
. N.T. 6, B, 12, 20.
5 N.T. lB.
. N.T. 7.
7 N.T. 6, 12.
. N.T. 6-7.
, N.T. B.
2
IN RB I ARMOLD
94-2794 CIVIL TERM
same last name .10
7. The natural father opposed the ohange of name, expressing
his poeition at the hearing as follows I
Well, first of all, you know, I feel very
strongly that the name -- for Nathan'e name to
be ohanged to Creeswell, you know, is not
going to affeot him one way. You know, it's
not going to go against him in his learning
and in facilitating him and his sohool, the
way his friends aooept him, beoause Nathan is
his name. And his last name -- the reason he
wants Cresswell to be his last name is beoause
his mother inetilleJ that in him. And at the
same point in time, it would just make it a
lot more oonvenient for her in the enrollment
prooess in the eohool.
The environment that he'e in, as far as a
family, is very important, but at the same
point in time, many children, many many
ohildren, nowadays do carry a different last
name. with this, you know, if the name ohange
would go through, I'd feel a eeparation from
my ohild. Yes, the ohild has my -- well, his
mother's maiden name, but it'e a blood/parent
name, and I have no problems with that. But
it just -- for my child to have a different
last name other than one of his parents, you
know, I oompletely objeot to.
Recently, baok before Suzanne got
married, I got a letter from her saying she
informed Nathan it'e okay to have two fathers,
but at the same point in time, ehe never went
on and said it'e okay for Nathan to have two
different -- a different laet name from his
mother, basioally whioh would result from the
marriage.
And laet but not least, Suzanne had
gotten married in May. Her marriage has been
10
N.T. B.
3
IN RE I ARMOLD
94-2794 CIVIL TERM
he ie approximately $3,000 in arrears on a support order.11
10. On the other hand, the natural father and his family
members have a good relationship with the child, and he sees the
child every two weeks or eo.1I
11. Both Petitioner and the natural father love their child
and desire to do what is in his best interest.1l
12. The natural father'e love for his child is such that he
would not allow a change of his child's name to af fect their
relationehip, even though he opposes such a change.1I
13. Petitioner's eon has aleo grown to love Petitioner's
husband, II although the latter underetands that it would not be
desirable for him to try to replace the natural father in the
child's eyes and he encouragee contact with the natural father and
his family. 20
14 . The propoeed change of name is in the child's best
interest, in that it will facilitate hie echool experience as an
identified member of a family unit, will maintain the uniformity of
15 N.T. 10-11.
11 N.T. 7-9.
11 N.T. 8-9, 19-21.
II N.T. 9.
II N.T. 13.
20 N.T. 12.
5
IN RE: ARMOLD
94-2794 CIVIL TERM
his and his mother' a last names, and should not significantly
affect hiD relationship with hia natural father.
DISCUSSION
A thoughtful discuseion of issues presented where the mother
of a child, born out of wedlock and bearing the mother's maiden
name, eeeke to have the name changed to that of a man she has
married, and where the natural father objects to the change, is
contained in In re Richie, 387 Pa. Super. 401, 564 A.2d 239 (1989)
(Beck, J.).
"As has been recognized," the Court noted, "'the
child's best interests must control in a proceeding to change a
minor child'e surname.'" Id. at 404, 564 A.2d at 241, quoting In
re Montenegro, 365 Pa. Super. 98, 101,528 A.2d 1381, 1382 (1987).
In Richie, the following observations were made by the Court
in affirming a lower court'e grant of a name change petition in the
present context:
It seems clear to ue from the face of the
petition alone that the child's mother offered
eufficient support for her poeition that a
name change would be in the child's best
interest. It seems only logical that a child
will grow up feeling more part of a family
unit when she shares the name of the parent
with whom ehe residee, in thie case, her
mother. [The father] appears to completely
disregard the impact which denial of this
petition might have on the child. He boldly
asserte that the mother's reasons for seeking
the name change "have Ieee to do with making
[the child's] life easier than they do with
making [the mother's] life more respectable
since [the child] would then be known to the
world by her etepfather'e name and presumed to
6
IN RE I ARMOLD
94-2794 CIVIL TERM
be hiB child. This result is not in the
child'e best interest since it would be
detrimental to her relationehip with (the
father]." We disagree.
It is easy to understand why a father
would object to the name change of a child who
shares his eurname. A name change in that
caae could arguably have some effect upon the
parent-child relationehip, at least to the
extent that the child would no longer be held
out to the world ae the iesue of hie or her
fathel:. In the inetant case, the child has
had her mother's name from birth. with her
present surname ..., (the child] is no more or
lees "known to the world" ae (the father's]
child then she would be with any other
surname. To insiet that the child retain her
current eurname under these circumstances
would provide no real benefit to (the father],
but may well work to the detriment of the
child whoee mother has aseumed a new name.
(The father] claime that the name change
would be detrimental to hie relationship with
(the child] as it would lead to the
preeumption that she is the natural child of
(the etepfather]. However, we perceive this
argument as one aimed more at the best
interest of (the father] than that of the
child. The child's mother made clear that the
child knowe (the father] as her natural
father. Whether the child retaine the
(mother's maiden name] seems of little
coneequence vis-a-vis the father-child
relationship. What ie of coneequence ie how
the child will be identified to the outaide
world, a particularly important factor ae (the
child] enters echool. Certainly, in this age
of ever-shifting family dynamice, there are
many children who do not share the eurname of
a natural parent. However, where a child has
the opportunity to ehare the name of the
family with whom she lives, we see no reason
to thrust upon the child the burden of
explaining why ehe doee not share that name.
7
~
it
~ ,
<n \' ~
~ ' .,
- ~ ~
1:.:: .~ \
I:'
'.:l
~ ~ K ..........
~ \J
'~' ~ , ' \ t
V)
~;.S
~~ ~ t;:
o-l~ ~
1><'"
E5ffi z
:l 10< ill
~I>< 10<0 0 9
o . o~ ILl o ~ i
~~ .., ffi ~ ~
~~ z
~
0 z~ u J: .. ~ ~
~u ~~ ~ ~ i i i
8~ 0
10<
~~ Z Cl ~ ~ Ie
0
~~ .. H lIi"l!lll
~ u~ I-< ~ ~ ~
H
Z I;J i
H I>< Iii
w
it
Cl
, .
, "
,
tJ
;.
I'q "
i.l:l't
.
NOTICB
Notice is hereby given that on the day of ,
1994, the Petition cf SUZANNB K. CREBSWELL, natur&l .other and
quardian of NATHAN TREVOR ARMOLD, was filed in the Court of CODon
pleas of Cumberland county, pennsylvania, prayinq for a decree to
change the name of NATHAN TREVOR ARMOLD to NATHAN TRBVOR
CRESSWELL.
The court has fixed , 1994 at
o'clock A.M./P.M. in Courtroom No. as the time and place
for the hearing of said petition, when and where all person.
interested may appear and show cause, if any they have, why the
prayer of the said Petition should not be granted.
SUlanne H. Griest, Esquire
Attorney for petitioner
GIlIn,H-.Glm.,
"......,...t
..."'.~lllllu
Itf~....Ilt.4..Ul'''U'
,.........uu....".U1
lll_...t1Ill......lIa
--
,-'
I N D E X T 0 W I T N E S S E S
FOR THE PETITIONER DIRECT CROSS REDIREC'l' RECROSS
Suzanne Creswell 6 11
Scott Creswell 11
Nathan Armold 15 17
FOR THE RESPONDENT DIRECT CROSS REDIRECT RECROSS
David Miller 1B 21
-----------------------.-----
I N D E X TOE X H I BIT S
FOR THE PETITIONER
No. 1 - affidavit of service, cover letter,
and return receipt card dated
July 1B, 1994
No. 2 - affidavit of service, cover letter,
and return receipt card dated
June 10, 1994
No. 3 - proof of publication of notice in
The Patriot and The Evening News
and The sunday Patriot-News
No. 4 - proof of publication of notice in
Cumberland Law Journal
No. 5 - affidavit of lien search done in
Cumberland County
No. 6 - affidavit of lien search done in
York county
FOR THE RESPONDENT
None
2
MARKED
4
ADMITTED
5
4
5
5
5
5
5
14
15
14
15
~
1 THE COURT: Good Morning.
2 MS. GRIEST: Good morning, Your Honor. My
3 name is Suzanne Griest, and I represent the Petitioner,
4 Suzanne Cresswell. This is the date and time that has been
5 fixed for a hearing on her petition as the mother and
6 natural guardian of Nathan Trevor Armold requesting that his
7 name be changed.
B THE COURT: All right. I notice there's
9 another person in the room.
10 MS. GRIEST: Yes, Your Honor, this is the
11 child's natural father, David Miller.
12 THE COURT: Mr. Miller, are you opposed to
13 the change?
14 MR. MILLER: Yes, I am.
15 THE COURT: All right. Do you want to
16 proceed?
17 MS. GRIEST: Sure. Before we proceed, Your
1a Honor, Mr. Miller is present. We did serve the petition on
19 him. I don't know if you would like the affidavits of
20 service filed as of record.
21 THE COURT: Yes, I think that would be a good
22 idea. We'll have those marked as Petitioner's exhibits.
23 MS. GRIEST: I will relate to the Court that
24 the first notice went out on June 7th, restricted delivery,
25 addressee only; and for some reason, the post office allowed
3
~
,.,....-..,
1 Mr. Miller's father to pick up the letter. So being not
2 sure that he received it, I mailed it out again to him, and
3 the second one did come back.
4
5
6
THE COURT: All right.
MS. GRIEST: Ho is present today.
THE COURT: We'll take a moment and have
7 those marked as exhibits.
8 (Whereupon,
9 Petitioner's Exhibits Nos. 1 and 2
10 were marked for identification.)
11
THE COURT: Petitioner's Exhibits 1 and 2, I
12 take it, are the proofs of service or at least some kind of
13 notice. Would you identify those, and then I'll admit them
14 into the record?
15
MS. GRIEST: Okay. Petitioner's Exhibit No.
16 1 is an affidavit of service signed by myself, together with
17 a copy of the cover letter that was sent, along with a copy
18 of the petition, and the return receipt card evidencing
19 David L. Miller's signature on that receipt card
20 acknowledging service as of July 18th, 1994. That was the
21 second notice that was sent out. Petitioner's Exhibit No. 2
~~ is the first notice that was sent on June 7th of 1994, along
23 with a cover letter, and the return receipt card evidencing
24 the signature of Lester L. Miller for David Miller.
25
THE COURT: All right. Mr. Miller, is there
4
,'""
~.
1 any objection to the admission of those two items for the
2 record?
3 MR. MILLER: No.
4 THE COURT: All right. PetiHoner'a EXhibits
5 1 and 2 are admitted without objection.
6 (Whereupon,
7 Petitioner's Exhibits Nos. 1 and 2
8 were admitted into evidence.)
9 MS. GRIEST: As required by the statute, Your
10 Honor, this hearing was advertised; once in the Patriot News
11 and once in the Cumberland County Legal Journal. And I have
12 the two proofs of publication here also for presentation as
13 Exhibits 3 and 4.
14 THE COURT: All right. Mr. Miller, is there
15 any objection to the admission of Petitioner's Exhibits 3
16 and 4?
17 MR. MILLER: No, there isn't.
18 THE COURT: All right. Peti Honer's Exhibits
19 3 and 4 are admitted without objection.
20 (Whereupon,
21 Petitioner's Exhibits Nos. 3 and 4
22 were admitted into evidence.)
23 MS. GRI EST: I'd like to ca 11 Suzanne
24 Cresswell to the stand.
25 Whereupon,
5
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
"
r-
SUZANNE MICHELE CRESSWELL
having been duly sworn, testified as followsl
DIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MS. GRIEST:
Q Would you state your full name and address
for the record, please?
A Suzanne Michele Cresswell. I reside at 8
Monarch Lane in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.
Q And how long have you resided at 8 Monarch
Lane?
A I moved there December 17th of 1993.
Q Are you married?
A Yes, recently.
Q And who are you married to?
A Scott Brian Cresswell.
Q And are you the mother of Nathan Trevor
Armold?
A Yes, I am.
Q And what's Nathan's date of birth?
A July 31st of 1989.
Q Is Nathan your only child?
A Yes, he is,
Q Is this your first marriage to Mr. Cresswell?
A Yes, it is.
Q Could you describe the CLrcumstances around
6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
""'"
-,
Nathan's birth for the Court, please?
A I got pregnant, and I notified Dave. There
was some descrepencies of what he wanted, and he asked me to
have an abortion. I said, no. So that was that. He went
on his way. I went on mine. I had Nathan. I then
contacted him and let him know that I had the child. I left
a message with his parents, and his parents then wanted to
see him. We made arrangements, and we spent frequent visits
with them.
Dave wanted proof he was the father. Nathan
went through the blood testing, and up until the results of
the blood tests had come back, there was real no contact
with Dave other than what I made with his family members.
After the results came back that, yes, he was the father,
there was contact, and there was visitation. And then we
had gone to Domestic Relations, and support had been decreed
and had been paid. And ever since, David has had
visitation, and Nathan has seen his grandparents and other
family members on Dave's side of the family.
THE COURT: You Bay he has seen them?
THE WITNESS: Yes.
THE COURT: Thank you.
BY MS. GRIEST:
Q
A
Did you ever marry David Miller?
No, I did not.
7
Q
A
Q
A
Q
name changed?
A
---
,~
B
~
~
1 calling himself Nathan Trevor Armold Cresswell. And that
2 was how it was left. And over time of discussion between
3 myself, Scott, other family members, counselors, we had felt
4 that it was in the best interest that, since that's what he
5 had chosen, that we also fult it was in the ,1est interest of
6 him to go ahead and file the petition.
7 Q If the Court grants this change of name for
8 Nathan, do you see this in any way affecting his
9 relationship with his father?
10 A No, I do not, because Nathan has always seen
11 Dave at Dave's will, whenever Dave has asked for him if it's
12 been able to be scheduled. I've worked with him for the
13 past five years since David has shown interest. He's always
14 been able to see him and any other family members. And I
15 don't see that changing in any way because this is strictly
16 for school and family unit purposes, not at all to interfere
17 with his relationship with his father.
18 MS. GRIEST: That's all I have.
19 THE COURT: Mr. Miller, do you have any
20 questions of this witness?
21 MR. MILLER: You know, I heard it won't
22 affect my relationship with my child. Granted, no, it
23 won't, but I will feel partly -- I've lost something on the
24 part of my child.
25 THE COURT: Okay. You may make that sort of
9
r'"'\
.r~,
1 statement when you testify, but right now
2 MR. MILLER: No questions, Your Honor.
3 THE COURT: All right.
4 BY THE COURT:
5 Q Has Mr. Miller seen the child regularly?
6 A Yes, it's basically been when Dave or his
7 grandparents would call, which has been about an every
8 two-week basis, sometimes it goes every three, but it
9 usually is every two.
10 Q Has he been paying support?
11 A Yeah, we've been back to Domestic Relations
12 on several occasions, in Dave's case because of a job loss
13 and stuff, to have things decreed, but it's always been
14 through Domestic Relations since Nathan was born.
15 Q And what is the support payment per week or
16 per month?
17 A Right now, it's at 216 every two weeks.
18 Q Is that current?
19 A Yes, that's just as of, I think, two months
20
21
22
23
24
25
ago maybe when we had that.
Q I mean, are his payments current?
A Oh, he is in arrears due to the fact that it
took us a year until he had \:0 start paying.
Q How much in arrears?
A The last figure I saw from Domestic Relations
10
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
-""'\
--.
was an estimate of three thousand some dollars.
Q Three thousand dollars?
A Yes.
THE COURT:
MS. GRIEST:
Okay. Any other questions?
I have one other question, Your
Honor.
REDIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MS. GRIEST:
Q I failed to ask yuu, what name would you like
your child to assume?
A I'd like him to have Nathan Trevor Cresswell.
THE COURT: Okay. You may step down.
MS. GRIEST: At this time I'd like to call
Scott cresswell to the stand.
Whereupon,
SCOTT BRIAN CRESSWELL
having been duly sworn, testified as follows:
DIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MS. GRIEST:
Q Would you state your full name and address
for the record, please?
A My name is Scott Brian Cresswell. I reside
at 8 Monarch Lane, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.
Q Mr. Cresswell, are you married to Suzanne
Cresswell ?
11
Q
employer?
A
Q
A
Q
A
Q
"
,r--..
12
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
,......,
r-"
affect anything.
Q Do you have any desire to replace Dave in the
child's eyes as his father?
A Pardon me?
Q Do you have any desire to replace Mr. Miller
in the child's eyes as his father?
A No, I wouldn't want him to try to refuse him
as a natural father, no.
Q What is the name you would like Nathan to
assume?
A Nathan Trevor Cresswell.
MS. GRIEST: That's all I have.
THE COURT: Mr. Miller, do you have any
questions?
MR. MILLER: No, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Okay. You may step down. Thank
you.
MS. GRIEST: If the Court please, that is all
the witnesses that I have to present. There were two lien
searches done as required by the statute. Mrs. Cress\~ell
has lived both in York county and Cumberland county, so I
had searches done in both counties. And I have affidavits
from two different individuals who did the lien searches.
The first affidavit, which I would propose to
be marked Petitioner's Exhibit No.5, is one submitted by
13
.......,
r-
1 Jeff Mickey, a title abstractor with ABCO Abstracting
2 company of York County who performed the lien search in
3 Cumberland county. This affidavit reflects that there were
4 no mortgages, judgments, or secured transactions or other
5 liens filed against Nathan Trevor Armold.
6 The second affidavit, which will be marked
7 Petitioner's Exhibit No.6, is one signed by Lisa K. Shelly,
8 an abstractor with the law firm of Griest, Himes, Gettle,
9 Herrold & Swift. She performed a search of the records in
10 the offices of York county, and also found that there were
11 no mortgages, judgments, or secured transactions or other
12 liens against Nathan Trevor Armold.
13 THE COURT: We'll take a moment and have
14 those marked as exhibits.
15 (Whereupon,
16 Petitioner's Exhibits Nos. 5 and 6
17 were marked for identification.)
18 THE COURT: Mr. Miller, any objection to the
19 admission of Petitioner's Exhibits 5 and 6?
20 MR. MILLER: Would it all right for me to
21 look at them?
22 THE COURT: certainly.
23 MR. MILLER: No objection.
24 THE COURT: All right. Petitioner's Exhibits
25 5 and 6 are admitted without objection.
14
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
-"""\
/'""'
(Whereupon,
Petitioner's Exhibits Nos. 5 and 6
were admitted into evidence.)
MS. GRIEST: If the Court please, the child
is present, as indicated, outside the courtroom. If the
Court would feel it appropriate to talk with the child, we
can make him available.
THE COURT: All right. That's up to you.
MR. MILLER: Can I object to that?
THE COURT: You can object, but if it's
requested that the Court hear from the child, I'll be glad
to do that.
MS. GRIEST:
THE COURT:
I think it would be appropriate.
All right. Do you want to bring
the child in?
(Whereupon, Nathan Trevor Armold was brought
into the courtroom.)
Whereupon,
NATHAN TREVOR ARMOLD
having been duly sworn, testified as followSl
DIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MS. GRIEST:
Q Can you tell the Court your name?
A Nathan.
Q What's your middle name?
15
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
,'"'
,,,.....,
A Trevor.
Q Do you know what your last name is?
A (Witness nodded head affirmatively)
Q What is your last last name?
A Cresswell.
Q How old are you, Nathan?
A Five.
Q Do you know what it means to tell the truth?
A (witness nodded head affirmatively)
Q Can you tell me?
A (witness nodded head affirmatively)
Q Don't be scared. Can you tell me what it
means to tell the truth?
A (No response)
Q Don't know. Do you know what a lie is?
A (witness nodded head affirmatively)
Q What's that?
A Somebody lies to you, and they don't tell you
the truth.
Q Do you know what happens when somebody lies?
A (witness shook head negatively)
Q Is that something that's good or bad?
A Bad.
Q Bad. Do people get punished when they tell a
lie?
16
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
~
~
A Yes.
Q Do you know why you're here today?
A (witness shook head negatively)
Q You don't? Well, your mommy has asked to
change your name. She would like to have the Court change
your name to Nathan cresswell from Nathan Armold. Do you
understand that?
A (Witness nodded head affirmatively)
Q What do you think about that?
A (Witness shrugged shoulders)
Q Would you like to have your name be
Cresswell?
A (Witness nodded head affirmatively)
Q Can you say yes? She can't record you
shaking your head. You have to say yes or no.
A Yes.
Q Do you like that idea?
A Yeah.
MS. GRIEST: That's all I have.
THE COURT: Mr. Miller, do you have any
questions?
CROSS EXAMINATION
BY MR. MILLER:
Q Why would you like your name to be Cresswell,
Nathan Cresswell?
17
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
~
~
A (Witness nodded head affirmatively)
Q Why? Did your mommy tell you that?
A (Witness nodded head affirmatively) Yeah.
MR. MILLER: Okay. No further questions.
THE COURT: Okay. Thank you very much,
Nathan. You can step down, and you'll be let out of the
courtroom.
(Whereupon, Nathan Trevor Armold left the
courtroom.)
MS. GRIEST: That's all we have, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Okay. Mr. Miller, this is your
opportunity to take the stand, if you wish, and testify as
to why you feel the name shouldn't be changed.
Whereupon,
DAVID LESTER MILLER
having been duly sworn, testified as follows:
DIRECT EXAMINATION
BY THE COURT:
Q
A
Q
A
Q
A
Q
Would you state your full name, please?
My full name is David Lester Miller.
Where do you live?
I reside at 2043 Deer Chase Lane.
Where is that?
It's in York, Pennsylvania.
What's the zip code?
10
'1
r--
1 A 17403.
2 Q That's where we can send the decision to you?
3 A Yes, it is.
4 Q And what do you wish to say regarding the
5 petition to change the name?
6 A Well, first of all, you know, I feel very
7 strongly that the name -- for Nathan's name to be changed to
8 cresswell, you know, is not going to affect him one way.
9 You know, it's not going to go against him in his learning
10 and in facilitating him and his school, the way his friends
11 accept him, because Nathan is his name. And his last
12 name -- the reason he wants cresswell to be his last name is
13 because his mother instilled that in him. And at the same
14 point in time, it would just make it a lot more convenient
15 for her in the enrollment process in the school.
16 The environment that he's in, as far as a
17 family, is very important, but at the same point in time,
18 many children, many many children, nowadays do carry a
19 different last name. with this, you knoW, if the name
20 change would go through, I'd feel a separation from my
21 child. Yes, the child has my -- well, his mother's maiden
22 name, but it's a bloodlparent name, and I have no problems
23 with that. But it just -- for my child to have a different
24 last name other than one of his parents, you know, I
25 completely object to.
19
---,
/"',
1 Recently, back before Suzanne got married, I
2 got a letter from her saying she informed Nathan it's okay
3 to have two fathers; but at the same point in time, she
4 never went on and said it's okay for Nathan to have two
5 different -- a different last name from his mother,
6 basically which would result from the marriage.
7 And last but not least, Suzanne had gotten
8 married in May. Her marriage has been for two months, and
9 she has resided where she is since December of '93. Now
10 Suzanne is, I believe, 23 years old, and I'm not eKactly
11 sure how old Scott is. It's a young marriage, and who's to
12 say -- I'm not saying their marriage is bad, and Nathan
13 shows good signs from both of them, but how do we know that
14 five years down the road things won't be as sweet as they
15 are after two months of marriage? And then my son will be
16 carrying around her eK-husband's last name. And that really
17 would really really bother me then because marriages usually
18 are nice in the beginning, and with statistics with young
19 marriages, it's 50 percent plus, according to different
20 statistics.
21 And last -- this is the last thing -- if you
22 feel that there is a need to change Nathan's last name, I
23 would like to ask you right now for a continuation of this
24 hearing so I may file a petition for him to have my last
25 name, which my last name will always be, and there would be
20
>""'\
,,-.
1 no reason to ever have it changed again.
2 THE COURT: Okay. Ms. Griest.
3 CROSS EXAMINATION
4 BY MS. GRIEST:
5 Q Mr. Miller, have you considered the impact on
6 your son when he goes to school and he's asked what his last
7 name is?
8 A Yes, I have. Why, who's going to ask him his
9 last name? His friends, yes. And then what he says is,
10 that's what my name was when I was born.
11 Q Wouldn't you want him to have the opportunity
12 to share the name of the family where he resides?
13 A That's really irrelevant because it
14 happens I mean, yes, in the past, I could have maybe
15 understood that, but this is the '90's, and it's a very
16 regular occ rence. I have a sister that deals with
17 children his age and the impact, and the name has no impact
18 upon the children whatsoever. It doesn't affect the way the
19 kids accept him or anything else.
20 Q He's never had your last name, has he?
21 A No, he hasn't.
22 Q And you had indicated there's a possibility
23 that she might divorce down the road, and then he would have
24 Mr. Cresswell's name. It's a point of fact that he would
25 still have his mother's eame last name?
21
'~
,~
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
..!4
25
A Then she goes to get remarried, what would
happen then? I mean, I can't say anything about their
marriage. It seems very nice, you know. I'm happy for
Nathan. At the same point in time, I'm trying to think down
the road, which that thought process might not have come
through with you guys.
Q Have you ever heard Nathan refer to himself
as Nathan Cresswell?
A
Yes, I have, you know -- not Nathan
His name was always Nathan Trevor Armold
Cresswe 11.
Cresswe 11.
Q But that's how he sees himself now, isn't it?
A That's the way I can't -- I'm not at right
to sit here and say he was told that, but being in the
environment with me only receiving him every other weekend,
it's hard, you know, when you are living with two people,
it's instilled in you that's what it should be. And the
child is young, and the child actually really doeen't know
the difference. Yes, his mother can say things to him
telling him what his name is or whatever.
Q If that's how he sees himself, don't you
think it will pose a problem for him if he goes to school
and he's told by his teacher and everyone else that
Cresswell isn't his name, it's Armold?
A He doesn't see himself as that. He was told
22
'1
..-'
1 hiB name -- laBt name was Cresswell from what he just said.
2
3
4
5
6
7 Any further witnesses, Mr. Miller?
8 MR. MILLER: No, that's it.
9 THE COURT: Ms. Griest.
10 MS. GRIEST: If the Court please, I would
11 like to move and request the Court grant our petition to
12 have Nathan Trevor Armold's name changed to Nathan Trevor
13 Cresswell. I would also like to point out to the Court the
14 case of In Re: Richie Boehm, 564 A.2d 239.
15 That's a Pennsylvania superior Court case in
16 1989 with facts virtually identical to this one where the
17 child only ever had the mother's maiden name. The mother
18 married. The father appeared at the hearing opposing the
19 granting of the change of name, and the Court at that point
20 indicated that the child's best interest is unquestionably
21 what mutJt control in a proceeding of this sort. The Court
22 aleo indicated that the father in that case appeared to
23 completely disregard the impact which a denial of this
24 petition might have on a child.
25 And even though, in this day and age, there
MS. GRIEST: I have no further questions.
THE COURT: Okay. Any further testimony
you'd like to give?
MR. MILLER: No. I'm done.
THE COURT: You may step down. Thank you.
23
'.......
.
/""',
1 are families or there are situations where children do not
2 carry the same name as their family, the Court indicated
3 that certainly where there is an opportunity to have the
4 same name, that we see no reason not to grant it. And it
5 seems to me that Mr. Miller's case would be stronger if the
6 child had his name.
7 The child has never had his name or has he
8 ever used his name, so that he would never be identified
9 with Mr. Miller. He would be identified with Petitioner's
10 maiden name. And at this point, the Petitioner's name has
11 changed to that of her husband, and it would seem that it
12 would be in the child's best interest, and due to the fact
13 that she is now married, there's a new family unit, there's
14 a possibility of other children, it would make the child's
15 life much easier and more appropriate if he did share his
16 mother's name.
17 And I think the testimony of the Petitioner
18 clearly indicates that the changing of this child's name
19 would not affect his relationship with his father. It will
20 not change his father's rights to this child, and all those
21 rights would still remain.
22
TilE COURT: '1'hank you. Mr. Miller, would you
23 like to make an argument?
24
MR. MILLERl Yes, but I don't know what to
25 say.
24
Proof of Publication of Notlt.ln Th. Patriot and Th. Ev.nlng N.ws
and Th. Sunday Patrlot-N.ws
Uader Ad "'0. IIlIf, AI'pro"ed Mar Ill. 11IlIII.
Cmnmnnwtnllll 01 Ptnn,"lvnnia, }
Corentll 01 nOlfl1l1in HH:
Michael Murruw bid I dl t I d and Y'
.....................................................................,.,.......",........,. e nit u Y sworn accor nil' 0 aw, eJ)08ea II I.
Asst. Cuntrul10r
That he Is the ............................of TilE PATRIOT .l\EWS CO., a corporation organized and existing
under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, with its principal office and place of buslnen at
812 to 818 Market Street, In the City of lIarrl.burgt.County of Dauphin, State of Pennsylvania, owner
and publisher of TilE PATRIOT and Tim EVENING NEWS and the SUNDAY PATRIOT. NEWS
newspapers of general circulation, printed aud 11IIbllshed at 812 to 818 Market Street, In the City,
County and State aforesaid: that TilE PATR OT and THE EVENING NEWS and the SUNDAY
PATRIOT - NEWS were established Msrch 4th, 1854, and February 16th, 1917 and September 18th,
1049 respectively, and all have been continuously published ever since:
That the printed notice or publication which Is securely attached hereto Is exactly as printed and
loth day of June
published In their r~ll'Ular editions and laaues which appeared on the ..........................................................
1994.
..,....................................................................,...................................,............................................................................
That neither he nor sold Company Is Interested In the subject matter of said printed notice or adver-
tlslnr, and that all of the allell'atlons of this statement as to the time, place and character of publication
are true i and
That he haa personal knowledge of the facts aforesaid and Is duly authorized and empowered to
verify this statement on behslf of The patrfot.New~fforesa Id by virtue and p urauant to a resolu-
tion unanimously paned and adopted severslly by he OCkhOlde~s and board of directors of the said
Company and lubsequently duly re:orded In the office or h1Recor I II' of Deeds In and for uld Count)'
of Dauphin In MI....U.n.ou.llook "M". VolunI.l4. P.~.. 17. .\,;
c." of NO"N ~ "",,,".. ....................... ...........k elL!:::.:::.::...:....'?'"..;.........
Sworn to and subscribe befb e thll ...,l.~h....;..day of
/ "
Ju e . ..' '/ ' ;., ., ,,1('
'J . . UOlanalSe '..' , 1/.",'--)" - / t'-??/;~l:" ~~.
Teuy L. nO'Jset,.N(l4!I: , ~lc:./..,.. ..,.'1......."..'1..(.-..........":";............ --
H."loburg. Dauphin , Y,MB' Notaf'll Publie
,Ill LO" EXplf 6 .Iunu €i, ",101
" ~rct't-Ct:!r1ll!9............................
M.ITD... f'.,nnt)l>'"
Stat.m.nt of Adv.rtlslng CoslI
G r.J.!).!1.t./....J.I.~m!i!.!i.r...,Q!i'.!;.!;.M.I....u.~};".r.Q~.<;j.,....li...I3W i f t
Y l} r. ~.!.......r.~. :....... ~.?~ .~~.~............. .......... ......... ..... ........
To THE PATRIOT.NEWS CO., Dr.
For IlUbllshlng the notice or publication attached hereto on the
b dd 49.80
love state atea - .............................
Probating same ...............~.:..~.~.....
50.80
Total .............................
NOTICI
NOTlea It"""'" _......"" ......11
I'r ..._II_M. ~~
....-.,__II_T......
~'_ _-o.........courtll__
...If CtuMY, ,....,IYONI. ....
. .. _"_lronl_
_"-II.
court '''....._...
..':i_ ===-
.==:':'..1. "mt"'_ lir';;
......._==.:::..11-
#:1.;,:1'" --='-
..... II.... ""...
. I la
I
Publlsh.r's Rec.lpt for Adv.rtlslng CoslI
TilE PATRIOT.NF:WS CO., IlUbllsher of TilE PATRIOT and TIIF: F:VENING NEWS and the
SUNDAY PATRIOT.NEWS, newspapers of general c1reulnllon, hereby acknowledge receIpt of the
aforessld notice snd publication costa and certifies that the Harne have been duly paid.
TilE PATRIOT.NEWS CO.
Ry ......,.................................................
..
oil EXHIBIT
'(7-;J~~/ l
"'OTICI
NOTICE IS HEREBY OIVEN Ihat
on Ihe 25lh day 01 May. 1004. Ihe
PeUllon 01 Su.alllle M. cresswell.
motheralld 1I0tural g\lanllan olNalh.
an Trevor Armold. a mlllor. was Bled
In IheCourl orCOII\lllOn Pic.. OICIIIIl'
berland cOllnly. Pennsylvania. re-
quesUng on order \0 change his
name rroltl Nathan Trevor Armold 10
Nalhon Trevor Cresswell.
TheCo\lrlhasnxedlhe Isldayol
Augusl. 1004.010:30 o'cloek A.M. In
Courlroom .5 01 Ihe ClIlIlberland
Counly Courl Ilollse. I CO\lrlhollae
Square. Carlisle, Pell\lsylvanla, as
Ule Ume alld place lor Ihe hearlllg 01
..Id PeUllolI, whell and where all
perean. Inlcrcelcd mny appear and
show cause. II allY Ihey have, why lhe
rcqueal ollhe PeUlIoller should nol be
gmnled.
SUZANNE II. ORlEST.
ESgUIRE
ATTORNEY FOR PETITIONER
JUlie 17
2
Cumberland Nolle..