Dwyane Wade’s Daughter Zaya Legally Granted Name And Gender Change 

Zaya Wade has been granted a legal name and gender change.

As per legal documents obtained by E! News, the 15-year-old daughter of Dwyane Wade and his ex-wife, Siohvaughn Funches-Wade, was granted the personal changes by a Los Angeles Court.

Following Zaya’s coming out as transgender in 2020, the retired NBA star supported his daughter by petitioning the court last August to legally change her name and gender.

READ MORE:
Dwyane Wade Admits He Fears For His Transgender Daughter Zaya’s Safety ‘Every Moment She Leaves The House’

Months later, in November 2022, Zaya’s mother asked the judge to reject Dwayne’s request upon filing her own papers.

“I have concerns that [Dwyane] may be pressuring our child to move forward with the name and gender change in order to capitalize on the financial opportunities that he has received from companies,” Siohvaughn wrote in the legal docs, “and will receive based upon [Dwyane’s] statements to me, on the basis of our child’s name and/or gender change.”

Siohvaughn also requested for Zaya to wait until “the age of majority” to decide on legally changing her name and gender.

READ MORE:
Dwyane Wade Gushes About 14-Year-Old Daughter Zaya: ‘She’s The Strong One In This Family’

In a separate court filing, Dwayne, 41, noted that  “granting the Petition is in Zaya’s best interest.”

“While it certainly would have been preferable for Zaya’s mother to be supportive of this important part of Zaya’s journey, Zaya should not be forced to put her life on hold while she waits for Siohvaughn to acknowledge and accept her truth,” he added.

Despite Dwayne having sole custody of Zaya, therefore giving him authority to make final decisions about her, he still sought Siohvaughn’s thoughts on the situation before filing the petition, as noted in his legal papers.

READ MORE:
Gabrielle Union And Dwyane Wade Talk About Their Journey With Trans Daughter Zaya

Nonetheless, “serious and harmful” allegations were still made against the former athlete’s parenting. In November, Dwayne took to Instagram to address the allegations.

“No one in our house would ever force Zaya or any of our children to do anything against their will, much less force an identity on them,” he wrote in part. “This isn’t a game for my family and definitely not for Zaya. This is her life!”

Dwayne and Siohvaughn also share 21-year-old son Zaire Wade. Additionally, Dwyane is a father to daughter Kaavia, 4, with wife Gabrielle Union, and son Xavier, 9, with Aja Metoyer.