Marriage comes with a lot of changes in the life of both the man and woman. In an attempt to present the transformation, many people opt to take a new name. Unknown to them, changing your name is a lengthy and taxing process. Further, the marriage name change solution your friend chose will not automatically work for you. Experts on name change recommend that you consider the following options when making your decision.
Maintain Your Name
Only people in your social circles are interested in identifying you by the name of your spouse. In fact, the law allows you to use any other name in social circles as long as you are not going to use it for official purposes. Since family, relatives and friends know your spouse, they will naturally associate you with him or her. This saves you the hustle of paperwork and appointments or court appearances that come with changing a name. You will also avoid the expenses that come with name change. This is an easy and straightforward marriage name change solution.
Change to that of Your Spouse
This is the most common option especially among ladies. It may happen both ways where each partner takes the name of the other. For the new name to be recognized officially, it must be done legally. This means filing your petition for name change with the government and having an official declaration that you have adapted a new name. The advantage you enjoy is that only one person will be required to change. In case you need joint medical cover, it will be easier to be granted since your names will rhyme. Whenever you will be traveling together, there will be fewer challenges.
While this is the most common marriage name change solution it is expensive and time consuming. Using your marriage certificate, you will make a request for name change to the state. This is a process that might require you to advertise the change on a widely circulating newspaper and also pay varying administration fees. The charges always depend on the state and uniqueness of your case. The state holds the power to decline your request for name change in case it would cause you to evade responsibility or have ongoing civil or criminal investigations.
Because the process is lengthy and tiresome, you may contract an agent to complete it for you. Name change agents understand the processes and have the resources as well as time to speed up the process. Engage the specialists in order to identify the best marriage name change solution for your case. This will also save you money since you can rest or focus on other profitable engagements.
Hyphenate Both Names
This is similar to adding another name to your original one. As a marriage name change solution, it saves you the trouble of having to notify all your friends, business associates, colleagues, etc every time they see a new name on your documents or signatures. You have to go through the formal name change process for the hyphenated name to be accepted.
Use a Combination of Names
This marriage name change solution allows you to be creative and generate a new name from your original one and that of your spouse. It is a merger of a kind that helps you retain your identity. Even for this option, the new name will not be recognized until it has been changed legally. This means filing for name change and applying for new documents such as driver’s license, bank cards, Social Security cards, etc. Failure to apply for formal change could cause you to be accused of impersonation.
Maintain Your Professional Name
The idea is to change your name on documents but still maintain your professional identity. This marriage name change solution is especially important for individuals who depend on their names like media personalities, athletes, consultants, motivational speakers, etc. It is not prudent to crush your identity and begin to work on it from scratch. As people come to terms with your change in status, they will begin to refer you by the new name.
To avoid costly mistakes or unnecessary hustle, consult a specialist agent to identify the best marriage name change solution for you. These specialists understand the processes and will complete them on your behalf. This allows you to settle in your marriage and spend time together other than worry about queuing at the Department of Motor Vehicle or other offices to follow up on documents. This will save you a lot of time and money.
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