Can i keep maiden name after marriage

But before you head to the DMV I know, you're in such a rush to visit that glorious institution , check your state rules.

Where you live will determine when exactly you can apply for a new license, as well as how much you'll pay for it. If a newlywed husband wants to take his wife's name, Tate says, only eight states — California, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, North Carolina and New York — will allow him to follow the standard married name-change procedures.

Same-sex couples may be similarly put upon in states that do not allow or recognize gay marriages or civil unions. Another document you'll want to update is your passport. But, says Tate, "keep your travel plans in mind. Once you're ready, you'll need to fill out the appropriate form and mail it to the address listed on the form, along with your current, valid U. If you decide to change your name, be sure to notify your employer, clients, industry sources, vendors and other important professional contacts.

You might also update your resume, CV and any online professional profiles, such as on LinkedIn, to include a "formerly known as" line with your past names you know, like Prince, fka… a pretty drawing.

Sound overwhelming? I agree hence my inertia. But if you still want to go ahead with the change, you can get some help from Tate's MissNowMrs. At MissNowMrs. A couple of female editors at Kiplinger's have followed this route for the best of both worlds — keeping with tradition in their personal lives and maintaining their professional brands.

Still, "having dual names has led to some confusion over the years because I've always had dual identities," says Kiplinger's Personal Finance editor Janet Bodnar.

Tate says this option is "a very popular trend right now. She has since gone by Cynthia Salgado Rapacon. Twenty years ago, another senior editor at Kiplinger's also became a trendsetter and took the name Anne Kates Smith.

She had originally planned to keep her name, but an incident at her former company changed her mind: One day, the office received a call from a school seeking the mother of a child whose last name was unfamiliar to Smith's colleagues, and nobody could track down the appropriate parent to speak with the school.

Of course, you'd have to drop your given middle name. Says Smith, "I've often wondered if my Mom is disappointed about that. Keep in mind: changing your middle name may cost you extra. Some states — California, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington — will not recognize this change in the standard married name-change process.

If you live in one of these states, you'll have to get a legal name change and pay those additional, associated expenses mentioned above in option two.

Hyphenating your last name with your spouse's last name is common. And, like options three and four here, it offers a happy compromise. Having a different last name than your spouse is unlikely to confuse your children. While a shared last name may sidestep intrusive questions, research shows that having parents with different surnames rarely meddles with a child's identity.

And save for Spain and Iceland, Western Europe seems to follow the same pattern. On the other hand, in , Greece passed a Family Law Reform that required women to retain their surname after marriage and even pass it on to their children. Additionally, the decision has been known to elicit intrusive questions and comments from friends, family, and strangers alike. When the United States Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage throughout the country in , part of the ruling allowed for same-sex partners to change their names just as opposite-sex couples do.

The cost of changing your name after marriage varies from person to person. For example, if your passport was issued within a year of your marriage, the replacement with your name change is free. For a passport older than one year, however, there is a charge for a new issue.

A new social security card, however, is free for marital name changes; just be sure to work directly with the Social Security Administration. But this particular tradition may not be right for everyone. So, keep it simple, skip the mountain of paperwork, and leave your last name as is. Back in the day, when marriages were more of an alliance between families, hyphenation was common practice. If you really want to turn the tradition on its head, your husband can take your last name.

It's not the most common practice, but it's certainly an option. For a truly avant-garde approach to the name game after marriage, spouses are increasingly dropping their given surnames entirely and creating or choosing one that belongs to both of them. Some thought-starters for creating a new last name include inventing a mashup of both of your names, digging one up from your family histories, or choosing a new name that has no ties or meaning to either party.

Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for Brides. At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page. So we were going to choose a new surname together but one that was in the family to signify the unity but never really got it sorted so we still have our own surnames. His Name. When my marriage broke down I was definitely glad I'd made this decision! Interestingly though I am undecided whether I would change my name if I got remarried.

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