question about maiden name? (wives, marriage, women, husband)

[Etienne007]

Ok lets you are married.

Husband = John Smith
Wife = Tracy Cole

Now, in your passport/ id your nam is still Tracy Cole, but you may wish to be called Mrs. Tracy Smith.

My question, 1) if you choose your husband's name, will his surname be in your passport/ id/ cc/ depit card etc?

2) If you keep your maiden name is it possible that some letters, credit cards are adressed as Mrs. Smith, eventho Legally you are still Tracy Cole.

3) Divorce? Some women are divorced but still have their husband's name. Why is that?

E.g. Ivana Trump, ex wife of Donald Trump

4) Some wives got "two" surnames. E.g. their maiden/ plus mrs. Will these two names be on your ID?

Tracy Cole-Smith?

[sierraAZ]

Originally Posted by Etienne007

3) Divorce? Some women are divorced but still have their husband's name. Why is that?

Because we're sick and tired of dealing with the red tape involved and don't wanna invite any more mistakes from financial and other institutions.

[CMMom]

You have to be sure that your ID (driver's license, passport, etc...) matches EXACTLY the name on your credit cards, etc... If your ID does not match the name on your airline tickets (for example), you'll have a problem.

I use my married name as my legal name on all documents, but do business under my maiden name. The reason is that my business was established before I was married, and all my clients knew me that way. I thought it would be too confusing to change after my marriage, not to mention expensive and a pain in the a** to change all my business licenses, cards, etc....

Some people keep their maiden name as their legal name, but want to be known socially as their married name. I think that that can get confusing, but it's OK to do.

Some divorced women keep their married name so that they will still have the same name as their children. Others just keep it because they don't want the hassle of legally changing it back to their maiden name.

It's all really up to you, but you have to make sure that all the legal documents match and use the same name (Social Security, driver's license, passport, tax forms).

[StuckPA]

Originally Posted by Etienne007

Divorce? Some women are divorced but still have their husband's name. Why is that?
E.g. Ivana Trump, ex wife of Donald Trump

Some wives got "two" surnames. E.g. their maiden/ plus mrs.

Pretentious sounding.

[Etienne007]

Originally Posted by CMMom

You have to be sure that your ID (driver's license, passport, etc...) matches EXACTLY the name on your credit cards, etc... If your ID does not match the name on your airline tickets (for example), you'll have a problem.

I use my married name as my legal name on all documents, but do business under my maiden name. The reason is that my business was established before I was married, and all my clients knew me that way. I thought it would be too confusing to change after my marriage, not to mention expensive and a pain in the a** to change all my business licenses, cards, etc....

Some people keep their maiden name as their legal name, but want to be known socially as their married name. I think that that can get confusing, but it's OK to do.

Some divorced women keep their married name so that they will still have the same name as their children. Others just keep it because they don't want the hassle of legally changing it back to their maiden name.

It's all really up to you, but you have to make sure that all the legal documents match and use the same name (Social Security, driver's license, passport, tax forms).

Aha this makes sense.

Ok, but when does the name change occur? After the marriage? Like do you have to show your marriage certh in order to change it?


Why would some divroced women want to have the same name as their children? I mean regardless of her name, the children would most likely live with her anyways.

[KentuckyBlueMoon]

I dont know...its all so confusing. I bought a car from a married woman and she signed over the title to me and i had to wait months and months cause the dmv and insurance company needed to verify that the car belonged to the same woman because the title was in her maiden name.

[CMMom]

The name change comes after the marriage. You do have to take the marriage certificate with you to make the changes.

I think that the divorce thing is just a matter of personal preference. Some women may worry that the children will be confused if she has a different last name.

[Etienne007]

Originally Posted by CMMom

The name change comes after the marriage. You do have to take the marriage certificate with you to make the changes.

I think that the divorce thing is just a matter of personal preference. Some women may worry that the children will be confused if she has a different last name.

aha, that makes sense.

Also, you said do business under your maiden name. But let's say if you need to sign a contract, doesnt that get confusing, since your legal name is different now or if they need to tranfer money to your bank account?

[CMMom]

I sign all contracts (and my tax forms) with my legal name. My business is incorporated, so the name looks like this: Jane Smith, Ph.D., P.C. (Professional Corporation). I haven't run into any problems.

I have a business checking account for Jane Smith, Ph.D., P.C. (the corporation) and a personal checking account for Jane Smith Jones (not my real name, but you get the picture). Transferring $ back and forth has not been any more of a problem than if my business was named Counseling Resources (I'm a psychologist) or any other name. Establishing a relationship with and knowing the people at my bank branch also helps if any issues crop up.

[2mares]

When I married, I never changed my SS or DL or payroll information. My credit card has my previous married name, I had it before I married. My seperate checking account and debit card are in my married name. I get correspondence in both names.
I am getting divorced so I guess its a good thing I wont have so much crap to deal with. I am taking my previous last name because most of my documents are in that name and my kids have that name.