If you are reading this, you probably changed your name after getting married, and are now considering changing it back as you go through a divorce. If that is the case, you may remember it being a time consuming process with several steps. Your insurance policies, financial accounts, social media accounts, Social Security card. . . the list may seem never ending. While changing your name is not a requirement of getting divorced, chances are that you will want to change back to your maiden name at some point. Fortunately, the process of changing your name post divorce only differs slightly from the process you went through after getting married.
If you are using an attorney, the name change paperwork can be filed easily with your petition for divorce. An experienced family law attorney should ask if this is something you want to do during your initial discussions, but it doesn’t hurt to put it on your list of items to discuss if you plan to use an attorney and have not selected one yet. Whether you use an attorney or not, you will be required to file a petition and appear before a judge in order to change your name post divorce. This makes changing your name through an attorney as part of your divorce process the best option for most.
Not including attorney fees, your name change is likely to cost anywhere from $100-$300 in the state of Texas. The fees will depend on which county you reside in so the best resource for determining the exact cost is your county’s website. Your attorney is likely to know this information if they handle family law matters within your county frequently. Attorney fees will vary, but the costs can easily exceed the filing costs charged by your county. This would be the one advantage of not using an attorney for this process. If you’re willing to do the leg work of locating the documents and turning them into your county court yourself, you can save money by doing so.
There aren’t very many reasons that a judge would deny your name change request. The following may cause issues:
You are a convicted felon
You are a registered sex offender
You have warrants out for your arrest
You have significant debts that you are unable to pay
If any of these items may apply, discussing with an attorney before attempting to change your name may be the best course of action.
After you file the necessary paperwork and are granted a name change by a judge, the remainder of the process is very similar to what you experienced when you changed your name after getting married.
Request a new driver's license or other form of state issued ID (Within 30 days of being granted your name change)
Request a new social security card through your local social security office. (You will need your new ID and the legal documents related to your divorce and name change. Review the information at SSA.gov for exact current requirements.)
After receiving your new ID and Social Security card, update all other institutions and creditors which may include:
Banks
Insurance providers
Credit Card companies
Home utility providers (electricity, gas, water)
Loan Providers
Mortgage deeds
Lease providers
Retirement Plans
Your Employer
Medical service providers
Professional licensing boards and associations
Voter registration
Another consideration regarding name changes would be changing your children's names. You can change your children's names during or after the divorce process, and the process has the same steps as changing your own name, but it may be more difficult to get a judge to approve the change. If you, your child, and your ex-spouse agree that the name should be changed, the change is likely to be approved. If your child or your ex-spouse do not approve of the name change, it will be very difficult to get a judge to approve.
Overall, the difficulty of changing your name is low, but it can be a time consuming process. If saving time is a primary objective, consider using a name change service such as easynamechange.com. For between $35 and $75, easynamechange.com delivers a kit that can save hours of time. The basic idea is that they collect the required personal information from you, you indicate which of the thousands of companies they work with need to be notified, and they do the rest.
Whether changing your name yourself, through an attorney, or by using specialized tools to ease the process, changing your name post divorce can be an important factor in building your new life. The Split sincerely hopes that this article will help you navigate the challenges associated with this important change.
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