Wedding Name Change - Do I Do It?

Wedding name change is on the minds of a lot of brides. Do you really have to undergo it as soon as you get married? Well, it all depends on you really. Many women opt not to change their maiden names nowadays as they want to retain their identity. Others prefer to do the traditional thing and take up their husband's surname as their own. According to the wedding law, your name does not change automatically as soon as you get married. You will have to legally change your name by notifying the appropriate government agencies.

The traditional way to go would be to change your surname to your husband's surname entirely. Many women find this very romantic as they want to be known as the wife of so-and-so. You have many options open to you though. You could keep your maiden name, combine it with your husband's surname or completely change your surname. The decision is entirely yours.

There are many reasons why many women decide to keep their maiden name. They feel like they may lose their identity if they remove it totally.

Options

A wedding name change may be done in various ways. If you are a professional and are well known, it makes sense to retain your maiden name or at least combine it with your husband's name. You could combine both names with a hyphen in the middle. You could also keep your maiden name as the middle name while taking up your husband's surname.

When you are getting married, you should go for marriage counseling services. This helps you plan on your name change as well. If you are retaining your maiden name then you don't need any document stating so. But if you are changing it then there are few legal documents required, otherwise your wedding name change will not be recognized by most people.

Once you change your name, you have to get many of your personal documents altered. Some of these are your passport, driver's license, Social Security card, bank accounts and credit cards. You will have to consider your name change if you are making out prenuptial agreements. Check with your lawyer regarding the legalities of a wedding name change and how it will affect your prenup.

Another point to consider is that if your marriage ends in divorce, you will have to go through all the legal hassles to change your documents back to your maiden name. A wedding name change should only be done after you have understood all its pros and cons.