Understanding the positive side before You Hyphenate Name after Marriage

Indeed getting married is an amazing and special feeling. Yet we can’t deny the fact, it’s equally stressful event. Like every to-be-bride, you want your wedding to be just perfect and it is this desire and lots of responsibilities that come along with it brings in stress. You also need to think about making major decisions like changing to a married name. If you want to hyphenate name after marriage, it is essential that you understand all aspects associated with it.

Hyphenating name is a great idea

Whether you want to change your name legally after marriage or not, you must get your marriage license issued. Once you have your marriage license, you can ponder over the married name change idea. In early years, it was a part of the customary traditions that brides need to change her last name replacing it with her husband’s last name after marriage.

In those early years, if a bride decides to keep her maiden name even after marriage, she used to have some awkward stares from the society people wherever she goes. However, as the time passes, more and more women confidently kept their married name after the marriage. But there are some modern women choose to have even better name change solution – they prefer to hyphenate name after marriage instead of abandoning the maiden name or accepting the spouse name.

However, there is another side of changing to married name that you may want to consider. When you are married and live as a couple, you represent yourself as a unit or a family. And it is a wonderful idea that all the members of the family share a common surname. When you accept your spouse last name, it is a way to show your commitment towards that family goal. Hyphenating name help you keep your birth name and you also accept your spouse’s name at the same time respecting the tradition.

Hyphenating name is a cool idea to many brides and grooms of today’s time. If your spouse is of supportive nature, he will understand why hyphenating name is a brilliant idea. Besides, if you keep your maiden name as it is after marriage, your partner may accept it heartedly but his family and friends may not have equal level of acceptance for this decision which may bother you eventually.

The several benefits of choosing hyphenation

Hyphenation is a perfect solution to your ‘you don’t want to change your maiden name and your spouse don’t want you to keep the maiden name’ issue. With hyphenation, you and your spouse both will change your last name to a new common name. Most couples hyphenate their last names to have a common and brand new last name.

For instance, if your name is Noah Johnson and your spouse’s name is Jacob Williams, you can hyphenate your surnames and have your name as Noah Johnson-Williams or Noah Williams-Johnson.

With name hyphenation, you can continue using your birth name and you are legally accepting your spouse’s last name at the same time.

For so many women out there, it is really important to save their own identity after marriage. And hyphenating name after marriage provides you a way to have the best of both worlds – your maiden name and your husband’s name – in your last name. With a hyphenated name, you will still remain partially connected to all your previous achievements, awards or accomplishments of all kinds that you have obtained before getting married.

If you are into a profession like a doctor, lawyer, writer and consultant, abandoning their maiden name can be a commercial suicide. You might have achieved many professional certifications with your birth name. And leaving that name behind as you step into your married life can be threatening for your professional career.

But hyphenating name after marriage lets you stay connected to your pre-marriage accomplishments. After all, you have spent many years of life building a strong professional identity. Another good benefit of choosing hyphenation for name change after marriage is your children can still relate to your birth name, which might not have been the case if you change to your husband’s surname after marriage.

There can be any reason why you want to hyphenate name after marriage, just remember to consider all the consequences of name change option you select including its positive and negative sides to make the best decision.

A Name Change Checklist You Need to Consider Post Wedding

If you are recently married or divorced, updating your new name on Facebook and other social media sites won’t be enough. There is a huge list of other places where you need to legally change your name. Making a name change checklist of all those places will help you finish the entire name change process in much organized and precise manner.

You can always take a look at the checklist and ensure you aren’t missing out any authority or place where you need to update your last name. In short, a basic checklist will help you keep trace on whom you have notified and whom you haven’t notified about your new name yet.

To help you get started with the legal name change process, here we have shared a complete name change checklist to follow.

But before you begin with the legal name change process post wedding, you need to get your marriage certificate. For divorce, you will need to add name change request in your divorce decree or you can later get a court order for the same.

Get marriage certificate

You need to visit your local courthouse to get your original marriage certificate along with a few signed copies of it. The procedure time and steps of getting marriage certificate and signed copies may vary a bit from one state to another. You will need to enquire about the procedure and laws in your own state.

Most important authorities to notify on your name change

Social Security Administration (SSA)

Now that you have your marriage license or divorce order with name change order by court, the very next step is to visit the local SSA office for name change request. In addition to your marriage certificate (MC), you may need to submit your old SSA card and any other ID proof as requested.

You can download Form SS-5 and fill it before you visit your local SSA office. Usually there are no fees for changing name in your social security card. But you may have to stand in queue for an hour or two. When the new name (or maiden name in case of divorce) is updated in your social security card, it can be used a valid ID proof to update name legally at other government agencies like passport office and DMV.

Some states also allow the applicants to mail the SS-5 form along with required ID proofs. And a new social security card with the updated name is sent to applicant’s home within two weeks via post. Check your state’s guideline first as some states will need you to submit the form in person.

State Driver’s license

Visit your local DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) office to change your name legally in your driver’s license, vehicle title and vehicle registration. You may need to pay a small fee for the name change process.

Voter Registration

First of all, find out your state’s guideline for name and address change in voter registration. In some state, this process is handled by DMV offices. You can either download your state’s specific form or use national voter registration form for name change process.

Other places/entities you need to notify about name change after marriage or divorce include,

• Bank accounts

• Passport

• Utility bills

• Subscriptions and Memberships

• Workplace or University

• Investment accounts, credit cards

• Loans

• Insurances

• Emails, Social media accounts and other digital services

• Tax forms, Will and other legal documents

Prepare your own name change checklist and get a print of it; this will help you keep things organized and track your progress any-time. If you want to save time and efforts, hiring professional name change service is a good alternative to successfully accomplish name change process for all entities mentioned in your name change checklist.