With all the excitement surrounding finding Mr. Right and getting engaged then the wedding itself, somethings are overlooked. One of the things people take for granted is the name change. Do you change your last name? Do you hyphenate? How do you go about changing your name? Do you have to change your name right away?
First is will the blushing bride actually change her name? This can be contingent on several factors... her career, children, school, and her feelings on the subject. In the United States (and growing rapidly in other countries) the divorce rate is so extremely high that you have to consider what to do if the love fades. The trend of getting married later in life means that the couple has begun their careers before marriage and some have already had children.
Traditionally, the woman changes her last name to that of her new husband but in recent years, more women have decided to either keep their last name or hyphenate the two names. One of the factors going into that decision is due to the fact that as she has already gotten her degree and started her career, it is more convenient to maintain the identity that she is known by.
When you have gotten degrees such as doctorates and law doctorates, it is hard to get the name changed on the degree and if the love fades and divorce happens, it's even harder to change the last name back to your maiden. With the blended family where their are children who are coming into the marriage with you, it may be easier to keep the maiden name for school purposes. But the most important deciding factor in the matter is the couples feelings on the matter of name change. It could be a source of tension if the husband wants the wife to change her last name and she is not willing to without a really great excuse as to why not.
Then when you've decided on the name, how do you go about changing it if you wish to do so? You will have to go to the social security office to have your name changed there before you can even change it on your license. When you go to the Social Security Administration, they will notify the IRS so that you will not have to worry about your refund being rejected due to incorrect information. You will be able, in most cases, present your new social security card at your bank to have the named changed with your institution. Most credit cards will change your name with this document as well.
After changing with the social security office, your should go to the department of motor vehicles in your state so that your driver's license can be updated. While there, you can change your voter's registration card information. This will make it easier to change information with your bank and credit card companies. You may find this a good time to update your passport as well.
Inform the post office of your name change, and in cases when you both are moving into a new address, you can give them your name change so that they can forward your mail and have your new moniker.
You will have to inform your employer of the name change so that it can be reflected on your payroll and deductions. While you are there, you may want to update your insurance and beneficiaries on your work policies. If you have additional policies outside of your employer, you may want to update those as well as your auto, home, and life policies.
You need to inform lenders of your new name so that your credit report can be up-to-date if it becomes necessary to have a credit check done, such as for a new house. While speaking of lenders and homes, you should also notify these other people of your name change such as your mortgage company, doctor's office, professional licensing boards (the case if you're a doctor or lawyer, etc.), investments, your attorney (in case you did not contact him before the wedding), utility companies, and alumni association.
After, you take care of all the important updates, you can change your name with little fanfare as miscellaneous accounts come around.
There are so many companies that will send you information about doing the name changes for you for a small fee. But, honestly, it is relatively easy to get the name change on all documents within a week and you don't have to give out your personal information unnecessarily.
No matter if you change your name, hyphenate, or keep your original surname, make sure that the name that matters most to you is "his wife".
--Brides Made Consulting is where dreams live and brides are made.
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