SAN ANTONIO, Texas — "What is it, it’s just a typo! That’s all it is." Seems simple enought to fix...but Belinda Huizar says more than 14 months into the problem, she's no close than when she started. Huizar says "I just need them to correct my birth certificate so I can go on with my life."
"They" is the state of Texas. Belinda went to re-new her driver's license and get the verified "Real ID Star" on it. For whatever reason, the folks at the driver's license bureau required Belinda to show her birth certificate. When she realized she didn't have one, she requested one form the state.
The state told her Belinda Huizar didn't exist. After assuring them she did, someone eventually matched her information with her parents and the birth certificate of a Melinda Huizar. Whenever her birth certificate was created, someone mis-heard and typed Melinda, instead of Belinda.
The state told her she needed to hire an attorney and file a motion for a name change. When she did, the courts rejected the motion, because the attorney she hired made a mistake. The attorney refiled, but apparently made another mistake and it was rejected again. That's when Huizar called KENS.
I put her in contact with an attorney I knew would get the job done. Joe Lassen, with Lassen Law says it should be a very simple process and it should never have taken this long. Lassen says it's a matter of filing for a name change, being fingerprinted and making a quick stop at the courthouse.
He agreed to file the paperwork for Huizar and make sure Belinda... gets her name and her life back!