One of the decisions that many people – particularly women – face when they divorce is whether to return to their previous last name if they changed it to their spouse’s or added their spouse’s last name to their own when they got married.
Here in Vermont, a spouse can ask to have their former name restored as part of their divorce decree. This makes the name change process itself fairly convenient.
Who needs to be notified of name changes?
What can be time consuming is the notifications that anyone who legally changes their name needs to make. These include:
- Employers
- Banks and any entity that holds accounts, credit cards or loans
- Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) for driver’s license, vehicle registration and state ID changes
- Insurance providers
- Children’s schools
- Health care providers
- IRS, Vermont Department of Taxes and any other relevant tax collection entities
- Social Security Administration
- Government benefits providers
- Utilities providers
- S. Department of State for those with U.S. passports
Deciding whether or not to keep the last name of a former spouse isn’t necessarily easy, either. Although it’s not so uncommon for children to have a different last name than one of their parents these days, it can present added complications when families travel.
Further, if someone has used their married name or even a hyphenated or double last name for some time, it may cause confusion and even potentially harm a person’s professional reputation if they’re no longer known by that name. That’s something to consider.
The name change can always be done later
People always have the option of restoring their last name later. There’s more bureaucracy involved since it requires submitting a name change petition to the local superior court’s probate division.
If you have questions or concerns about their own name change as they divorce should discuss the matter with your legal representative and others whom you believe can offer valuable insight. It’s important not to make the change unless and until you’re sure about it.
