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I heard this webite is pretty great for all info relating to name changes!
I'm not going to lie to you. It takes a while and is a pain in the you-know-what. It is worth it, of course, if you want your new hubby's name, but I changed mine back in my divorce from 1st hubby and I have vowed never to change my name again. I've had a few second thoughts, but when I really thin about it, I decide to keep my name. Just make sure you have all your paperwork together. I know there is that service now. MissnowMrs.com which is supposed to help. Maybe some newlywed bees can comment if they used the service.
Its been 6 months since our wedding and I am just now about to log on to missnowmrs.com and make it official. (It took me so long because I wasnt positive about changing my name... so i did a few months "test run".) I know for me it'll take a while because we are out of state of our permenant residency (military) so everything will be via mail.
It seems like it will be seamless and so easy to do. NOT! I started all the forms early and still sit here 3 weeks later with not a darn thing changed. You have to make sure that you have a day or TWO to just get this done.
Its not hard, but it is a tad bit complicated, mostly time consuming. The SSA was a peace of cake for me. Although they never asked to see photo ID (scary). The BMV was a pain cause the lady insisted I had to go back to court to change my middle name. (I made my maiden name my middle name). That is not true, don't let them hassle you. Your signing a marriage liscence is an official court change. Anyway it was a hassle. My bank and employer were to the two "hardest" things, because I had to wait for my social security card to come in the mail. Oh, almost forgot. My bank wouldn't let us cash the wedding checks until my name was changed even though we had a joint account prior. That sucked. Altogether its going to take 3 weeks if your on top of things to get the major things changed. Good luck.
It wasn't horrible, but it was definitely a process. Make sure you have a certified copy of your marriage license because you will need it!
My process started at the social security office, where surprisingly I was in and out in under 20 minutes. I had to then wait 48 hours before going to the DMV. I spent a little over an hour there. Once I had my new social security card and drivers' license, I had to go to the department of ed to change my teaching certificate to the new name. The next step was to change everything with my employer and insurance. The bank was next, followed by everything from my car loan to prescriptions. Three months later, I'm still finding places that need to know my new name.
It's also been an adjustment to using the new name. I'm so used to the other one I still sometimes forget!
Good question. Also, does it cost money to change your name (assuming you do it on your own without a service)?
I've been married for 7 weeks and haven't even started yet... I think that it just seems like such a lengthy, daunting process... but I definitely intend to start this week. Just a side note - I signed up for 'I'm a Mrs' and didn't find it that helpful, to be honest... They just have one standard 'I'd like to change my name' template, and then give you the addresses for where to send in your info... but you can easily find that yourself, as well... just my two cents.
I was done in a month, maybe two. I'm realizing a few places I haven't changed it yet (like our utilities, which I don't care about, and my Gap Card), but I'm pretty much done. For me, the Social Security office was a pain but only because of the line.
@Carbon Girl--Certified copies of our marriage license cost $5.50 each (I bought way more than we needed, since I wasn't sure if places would need to KEEP a copy. They don't, just need to see it.) It cost me $35 at the DMV, and I haven't had any other fines or fees.
I'm pretty much done and have been pretty much done for awhile so I'd say it was pretty easy. I just went to SS and that was a piece of cake- (just make sure you have everything you need), then I went to the BMV which took a long time but wasn't hard, and then I just called all my credit card companies and changed it. Not bad. There are only a few things left to change like my Victoria's Secret credit card and stuff like that that I don't use often. Oh and I have to figure out my student loan stuff- anyone know if you can just keep that in your maiden name? Or if it matters? I have to talk to my school's financial aid dept. Other than that though- I wouldn't stress it!
@jyseka - was it difficult to change the name on your teaching certificate? Is it something you HAVE to do? I hadn't even thought about that - I'll be getting my teaching certificate a month before we get married...will it be a pain for me to change it?
I think it just depends on how quickly you start the name change process. For me, I changed mine right after we got back from our honeymoon, so as a result, I was all changed over within a couple of weeks. I do have a couple of random things to change (magazine subscriptions, college alumni association), but all the main things are done.
ETA: It also depends on your state what you get from your marriage license. We got the official copy with the seal and everything right on the day of our wedding and sent in the carbon copy to the state.
Honestly, it isn't difficult just time consuming. I have most things changed already except for the DMV and 1 bank account. Some were extremely easy to change, like my banks and insurances. I was lucky to only wait 20 mins or so for Social Security. I know I won't have much luck at the DMV as it seems EVERYONE is there the same day you go.
As the other brides mentioned, make sure you have a certified copy of your marriage license. I actually made copies of it as some institutions only needed copies.
I agree that it's not difficult, just time consuming. My pre-married name is everywhere. I have SS done, but not DMV. I have my name changed at work, but have yet to get around to changing my voicemail. Because I haven't changed my ID, almost everything is still in my pre-married name. When i got married before it took me about three years to get the new name on everything. Now I'm doing it all over again.
Not hard here in PA. Social Security 1st, then at work, filled out some update forms for the driver's license and registration and just switched everything over at the bank. Didn't cost me a dime either. Am slowly updating accounts as well.
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Hi Newlyweds! I can't wait to join you...but first a question!
How complicated/how long did it take you to change your name on all your stuff? We've got joint banking and are both in grad school in another state from where the wedding is. I know for the most part it depends on your state, but as far as non-state things like banking, etc. how did that work for you?