How to Change Your Name after a Marriage or Divorce

So many name changes happen each year. The majority of name changes occur because of a marriage or divorce. Depending on the circumstances, the courts may be taking part in the course of action.

When a womanweds and she would like to take her husband’s last name, after the wedding, she will require to do the following to legally change her name:
1. Bring the marriage certificate to the Department of Motor Vehicles and acquire a replicate license in her new name.
2. Take the marriage certificate to the neighborhood Social Security Office and request an revised Social Security Card.
3. Go to her bank to have her name changed on all of her accounts. She will need to order new checks and a new bankcard.
4. Get in touch with any company that she has an account with to change her name on the account.
5. Contact her credit card companies to have her name changed on the account and new cards applied with her new name.
6. Update her information with any utility companies that she has accounts with.
7. If the marriage also causes an address change, the above entities will also need correct her mailing address as well.

What if I Don’t Change my Name Right Away?
Occasionally a woman initially decides not to take her husband’s name, but later changes her choice. In those circumstances, she will probably need to take care of the name change through the courts. This fairly easy process includes filling out the proper forms showing her current name, new name, and reason for the name change. The courts usually grant these name changes without question. There will be a filing fee with the courts and some courts require that you submit in the newspaper your intent to change your name before they will grant the name change.

Can I Change My Name After a Divorce?
Upon divorcing, several women like to resume their maiden names or go back to a former married name if she had kids from a previous marriage. There are two ways to handle this. The simplest and most affordable is to have the name change is to have the name change incorporated into the divorce decree. Once the divorce is given, the recently divorced woman needs to have a certified copy of the divorce decree and notify the same entities as when she married and took her husband’s last name.