Should I Change My Name After Divorce

Many women accept their spouse's last names when getting married. After a divorce, nonetheless, it is natural to want to utilise your maiden name again. In most cases, it is fairly simple to change your name dorsum to your birth name. The process you follow and the complexity of that process depend on whether you request the proper name change as part of the divorce proceeding or opt to change your name afterwards.

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Note that divorce law differs somewhat depending on the country where you file for divorce. This commodity provides general steps applicable in about jurisdictions. When in uncertainty, consider seeking legal communication.

1. Decide at the outset of your divorce that you want to use your maiden proper name again.

When the proper noun change request is office of your initial divorce pleadings, there is no need for a carve up court order or a separate courtroom proceeding. So, if you lot know at the start of your divorce that you desire to reclaim your maiden name, allow your attorney know then he or she tin draft the pleading appropriately. If you are not using an attorney, there should be a place on the petition forms to signal your desire to render to your maiden name after the divorce.

If you lot are non sure what proper name you want to use at the start of your divorce but decide you desire to revert to your maiden name while the matter is nevertheless awaiting, you and your attorney can better the pleadings to include the name change request.

If you include the name change request during your divorce proceeding, yous should receive a court guild at the end of your divorce officially authorizing the change.

2. Obtain a courtroom guild subsequently your divorce is final.

Sometimes, women in the middle of a divorce are not sure what proper name they desire to utilize, and so they exercise not include proper noun alter requests in their filings. If you decide sometime later that y'all want to use your birth proper noun again, y'all need to follow your land's procedures for a name change.

Those procedures vary past country but may involve filing a legal motion with the clerk of courts in your county, publishing your intention to change your proper noun in a legal paper, and a court hearing. In some states, the procedure of obtaining a courtroom-ordered name change is more streamlined.

3. Update your terminal name on legal and personal records.

Whether yous include your proper name change as part of your divorce or obtain a separate courtroom order later getting divorced, you need to take additional action to employ your maiden name once more.

The divorce decree or separate court gild is legal proof that yous can change your terminal name on your commuter's license, Social Security records, passport, bank and investment accounts, insurance policies, and other places. Provide the decree or court order to government agencies and financial account holders so they can update your records. You may need to complete additional provider-specific paperwork to brand these changes official.

Yous take the correct to utilize your maiden proper noun again afterwards getting a divorce. To avoid potential problems, exist certain to use official legal channels equally described above to alter your name rather than simply signing your maiden name again after your divorce.

This portion of the site is for informational purposes only. The content is not legal advice. The statements and opinions are the expression of author, not LegalZoom, and have not been evaluated by LegalZoom for accurateness, completeness, or changes in the law.