Matter of Fleming
Annotate this CaseDecided on September 5, 2006
Supreme Court, Suffolk County
In the Matter of the Application of Heather Fleming The Mother and Natural Guardian of JAMIS MILETO an Infant, for Leave to Change His Name to JAMIS JORDAN ROSS
22546-2006
Heather Fleming
6 Canal Street
Center Moriches, New York 11934
Michael H. Ahearn, Esq.
Guardian Ad Litem
41 Meeting House Lane
Southampton, New York 11968
(631) 283-4111
Peter H. Mayer, J.
UPON DUE DELIBERATION AND CONSIDERATION BY THE COURT of the foregoing [*2]papers, the motion is decided as follows: it is
ORDERED that the application by the petitioner-mother, Heather Fleming, which seeks leaves to change the middle name and last name of her son, born July 14, 1995, from Jamis Corey Mileto to Jamis Jordan Ross, is hereby decided to the extent that a hearing is scheduled for October 24, 2006, 9:30 AM, in the courtroom of the undersigned, Part 17, located at 210 Center Drive, Riverhead, New York 11901; and it is further
ORDERED that at the October 24, 2006 hearing, the petitioner shall present admissible evidence and testimony upon which the Court may render a proper decision as to whether or not the interests of the infant will be substantially promoted by the proposed name change, as set forth in Civil Rights Law §63; and it is further
ORDERED that Michael H. Ahearn, Esq., 41 Meeting House Lane, Southampton, NY 11968 (631-283-4111), is hereby appointed as Guardian Ad Litem of the infant, Jamis Corey Mileto, the reasonable fees for which the petitioner shall be responsible, who shall assist the Court in determining whether or not the interests of the infant will be substantially promoted by the proposed name change; and it is further
ORDERED that the petitioner shall contact the Guardian Ad Litem within ten (10) days of the date of this Order to discuss all details pertinent to this application, and shall cooperate and promptly comply with all of the Guardian's requests for information related thereto; and it is further
ORDERED that pursuant to the notice provisions of Civil Rights Law §62, the Guardian Ad Litem shall serve a copy of this Order, as well as a copy of the petition and petitioner's proposed order upon the child's father, Jamis Cain Mileto, by certified mail, return receipt requested, and regular first class mail, at the father's last known address, to be ascertained by the guardian, within thirty (30) days of the date of this Order, and shall file an affidavit of such service with the office of the Suffolk County Clerk, a copy of said affidavit to be provided to Chambers prior to the aforesaid hearing.
In this ex parte application, the pro se petitioner-mother seeks leave to change the name of her 11 year-old son, born July 14, 1995, from "Jamis Corey Mileto" to "Jamis Jordan Ross." This ex parte petition was initially presented to this Court for signature on August 15, 2006, at which time the petitioner was informed by Court staff that the petition did not satisfy the requirements of New York's Civil Rights Law concerning name changes, particularly given that the subject of the proposed name change was an 11 year-old child whose biological father, Jamis Cain Mileto, had not been afforded notice of these proceedings.
With regard to the grounds upon which the proposed name change is predicated, the handwritten portion of Paragraph 9 of the preprinted petition form states that the petitioner "wishes that her son share the same family name as his mother and stepfather." At some point prior to the original presentation of the petition to this Court, Paragraph 9 was modified to include various [*3]handwritten inserts as follows:
9A - Reasons to Waive Notice To Father
1)active arrest warrant from Suffolk County Family Court ... see exhibit A
2)father has abandoned him [the infant] for approximately 5 years; not sending Christmas cards, offering support - financially, religiously, socially.
3)mother and stepfather have recently bought a house in a new school district and would like son's name to be the same as them.
It is not clear what, if any, of these handwritten portions were inserted after the petitioner presented the petition to the Special Term Clerk's office. In not signing the petition in its then-present form, the Court noted that the aforesaid handwritten inserts appeared to be written in various different types of handwritings and styles and were on a separate page, which was inserted between Page 1 and Page 2 of the preprinted petition form. Although the petitioner's notarized signature is on the third page of the petition, such page is actually enumerated as "Page 2" of the form. In essence, these are inserted handwritten statements on an inserted page, which is not notarized.
On or about August 18, 2006, the petition was again presented to the Court in the same form initially presented to the Court, with the exception of a newly handwritten insert to Paragraph 9A of the petition, which states as follows :
4)The biological father has a history of violence and criminal activity which leads Petitioner to fear re-establishing contact.
This additional inserted language is in yet another handwriting style, the petition is not re-dated, and the inserted handwritten statement is not sworn. In view of the allegations (whether sworn or unsworn) set forth in the petition, the appointment of a guardian and a hearing on notice to the biological father is necessary for the Court to determine whether or not, pursuant to Civil Rights Law §63, the interests of the infant will be substantially promoted by the proposed name change.
This constitutes the Decision and Order of this Court.
Dated:
PETER H. MAYER, J.S.C.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
