MG // August 5, 2008 at 8:35 pm I went on the Hawaii State Judiciary website, which anyone here can do provided you conduct your search within the Hawaii Standard Time parameter: http://hoohiki1.courts.state.hi.us/jud/Hoohiki/main.htm?spawn=1 Its very simple - Once you’re reached the page provided above, click on “Enter” and you will be connected to the court’s server which takes about a minute or less. Then, a Search window will appear. Enter in the name you wish to search for in Search Option #2. Unfortunately, the system provides records dating only back to 1983. As such, I was only able to pull up a Dissolution: STANLEY ANN SOETORO VS LOLO SOETORO Although this case was initiated on 8/20/1980 it was terminated on 11/26/1988 which is why its probably in the system: its post-1982. Those interested may wish to check this out. The Case number is: 1DV00-0-117619 I couldn’t find anything online for Barak Obama. If he has indeed done a name-change, that would be either (depending on the jurisdiction) Family Law Court or Civil Court. I checked under both for years 1983-1987 and found nothing. Since he claims to have been over the age of 18 when the name change was filed, then it should be public record. In any event, usually for name changes, the party is to file an Order to Show Cause (as its termed in CA courts, could be termed something else in HI) for Change of Name. Part of this filing is to provide the court with proof that the Order to Show Cause was published in an approved (by the court) publication once a week for four (4) consecutive weeks. Anyone who can do a search (in person) can find these published documents in the Name Change Petition that was file. I hope I am making sense here. It means you do not have to search day-by-day in the newspaper archives. The court Petition would have a proof of publication filed with it. AFTER the name change is granted by the court, *then* the birth certificate is amended to show the new name. Note to Practitioners: I have posted a *very simple* outline of the name-change procedure. MG
I thought the Divorce Record info interesting since Lolo Soetoro supposedly died in 1987 yet the proceeding was not terminated until 1988 per this record. Maybe they were never officially divorced? I wonder if this somehow comes into play if Lolo Soetoro did adopt Obama as a child.
just thinking out aloud here...if the divorce was not finalized before Soetoro died, obama's mother would have been his widow, probably entitled to his estate. Might explain why she remained in Indonesia, wrote a book...didn't have to support herself, and had enough funds to travel to Pakistan.
http://onemansthoughts.wordpress.com/2008/05/24/stanley-ann-dunham-obama-soetoro/
“Barack’s half-sister, Maya Soetoro was born in Indonesia. Ann, Barack and his sister Maya moved back to Hawaii. Ann Dunham soon returned to Indonesia with Maya but divorced Soetoro in the late 1970s.
Dunham traveled around the world, pursuing a career in rural development that took her to Ghana, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Nepal and Bangladesh. In 1986, Ann Dunham worked on a developmental project in Pakistan. Later that year, Ann and her daughter traveled the Silk Road in China. In 1992, she earned a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Hawaii. Her dissertation, ‘Peasant blacksmithing in Indonesia: Surviving and Thriving Against All Odds,’ was 1067 pages long. She worked for the Ford Foundation and promoted Microlending...”
The file would remain open and active if there were any issues before the court -- child custody, child support, alimony, or any sort of property distribution. Sometimes, the files can remain over for decades, e.g. if one spouse is granted part of another spouse's pension.
Barack's half-sister, Maya Soetoro, was born in August 1970. So the case is terminated a few months after her 18th birthday, which does not strike me as odd.