how easy is it to change your last name?

[ToscasMom]

The thing is, family arguing aside, your legal name is your legal name. It may not matter now but it will in the future, particularly in social security land. You either use your legal name or you change it legally. But you can't just just arbitrarily pick a last name without doing that. It wreaks all kinds of havoc

Even in divorces, a woman gets her maiden name back if she wants it, but it normally becomes part of the decree. I did it that way. I once got accused by the IRS of being two different people with the same social security number. Believe me, they had me dancing.

 

[juliefurry]

Yeah I know and she has the right to change her last name in the decree. The thing is we will get bills and it has her listed with our last name but than we'll get letters in the mail and it'll have her last name listed. It's like she does pick and chose when to use what last name.

I mean we talked about it and if they want to use her last name than fine but he does not want it changed on their birth certificates or any documents and he is afraid that is what is will do. They are his boys as well as hers and she acts like she walked into a sperm bank picked a donor and had them make a deposit (well technically all she uses guys for is a sperm donor anyways but that's a different story).

It's just upsetting to us that we are trying to do what is best for the boys and she just goes on her merry way doing whatever she wants to do and forgets she has children and she has to think about what is best for them.

 

[MayasMom]

To answer your question of how easy it is, I think it is pretty easy. When I went to the social security office to change my name when I got married, there was a man there changing his son's name. All that was required was his son's social security card and birth certificate.

 

[poodlesmom]

When my daughter was starting school I had been divorced from her father for 3 yrs. I was remarried and we were in the process of my husband adopting her. It was taking a while because my ex wasn't being very timely in filling out the paperwork that was necessary from his end. Since the adoption wasn't final yet the school required her to be registered with the last name that was on her birth certificate. Once the adoption was finalized and we received her new birth certificate I was then able to have her social security records and school records changed.