Name Change 101…Yes, You’ll Still Smell as Sweet!
By Heather Faucher | Posted on July 23, 2009 | Filed Under Name Change
So you’ve decided to change your name. Maybe you never liked it to begin with, or maybe you got married and want to take your spouse’s name. Could be that it’s unpronounceable and you’re tired of having it spelled wrong all the darned time. Maybe you’re a wanted criminal and…okay, okay, that last one was a joke. But seriously, changing your name can be easy with the right person to guide you through the process. In the meantime, here are a few things to keep in mind.
1. Choose carefully. If you’re lucky enough to get to choose your own name, make sure you practice signing it and having people call you by it out loud to make sure you like it, both on paper and on the lips. Also, if you’re the sensitive kind, try and think of any embarrassing nicknames people might come up with based on the new name. Even if you’re out of high school! Just make sure it doesn’t appear that you’re trying to pretend to be someone else to avoid bankruptcy or prosecution, and it’s also ill advised to violate trademarks, to use numbers or symbols except Roman numerals, or to use obscene words.
2. Rules vary. The rules you’ll need to follow are going to vary from state to state–possibly even from municipality to municipality. Here’s where having an experienced lawyer to help you could definitely come in handy. At minimum, you should definitely contact the appropriate local governments to find out what rules you need to abide by to get your name legally changed.
3. Extra steps. Some people have to take some extra steps when going through the name change process. For instance, lawyers,ex-cons, and aliens must notify the state bar, the Criminal Justice System, or the Immigration and Naturalization Services, respectively, along with placing an ad in the newspaper.
4. Marital name change. Changing your name because you changed your marital status is a lot simpler than other name change processes, especially if you’re only changing your surname. It’s also fairly straightforward if the only change you’re making to your middle name is to change it to your maiden name. Changing your first name and/or your middle name to anything other than your middle name is going to require you go through the traditional route, which means going through the court system.
5. Old ID. It’s a good idea to keep your old identification, just in case.
6. Copies. You definitely want to keep copies of everything, both under the old and new names, that you can. The DMV may want the old ID back–in that case make sure you get a photocopy of it before you return it in order to get the new ID.
Want to change your name? It can be easier than you think with the right information in hand. Find it here!
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Tags: change your name, Name Change, Name Changes
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