With Arkansas Bride expanding to two issues per year and our Web site helping tons of brides, we thought a regular Q&A feature would be useful and would give a glimpse into what’s on our readers’ minds.
If you’ve got questions, e-mail us at advice@arkansasbride.com, or write to us at Arkansas Bride, P.O. Box 3686, Little Rock, AR 72203.
The New Me
Q: My wedding was last Saturday, and I just got back from my honeymoon last night. I plan on changing my last name to my husband’s, but I’m not sure of what all I have to do to have an official name change. Do you have any kind of guide on what new brides should do to change their last names, and, if not, could you recommend a place where I could find some guidance? —Â Jessica O’Bryan (soon to be Jessica Wallace), Little Rock
A: The first thing you have to do is wait. We know that seems hard, especially since you’ve been going at full throttle for months now, but your marriage license — the one your clergy sent in — will be delivered to you by mail usually within two weeks of the wedding. (That is, if it was sent right away.) Once you receive the official, gold-starred document from the courthouse in the county in which you took the license, you can begin the time-consuming process of changing your identity.
Make some copies of the license, and store one in a safe place like a locked box at the bank. Also, put away your original, or frame it for a special memory. But before you tuck your original away, you’ll need it for a few name changes.
Take the orginal to your local Social Security office — search www.ssa.gov for your local office — and fill out some painless paperwork (they say it only takes a few minutes). Your new card will be mailed in two to three weeks.
Next, the most logical step is the DMV. Take the original copy of your marriage license to the place where you renew your driver’s license. If you are buying a house and don’t have a permanent address yet, you might want to wait on this. The DMV people will issue you a new license under your new name and address.
A new license will allow you to open a joint checking account, if you wish. Keep in mind, though, that if you want to do this, you both must be present at the bank. You’ll also need your new license.
Once your driver’s license and bank accounts reflect the new you, write to your utility companies and other businesses that might need your address (electric company, magazine subscriptions, doctors’ offices). You’ll also want to check with your employer and refile payroll information, and you should compare insurance policies with your hubby. It might be a good idea to create a small postcard on your computer to send to the places mentioned above. Be sure to include your former and new names, account numbers, address and a copy of your marriage license (many companies like to have a copy of your license in your file). Also, consider changing your e-mail address to reflect your new name.
This may be information-overload, but it’s worth the feeling you get when you’re addressed as “Mrs. Wallace.”
For more information, check out TheKnot.com or Google.com and search for name change.
(And for more on the legalities of marriage, click here.)
Editor?s note: Jessica wrote back to us with some more feedback: “Thank you so much for your help! You’ve definitely made a seemingly overwhelming task seem doable!” She also included her own way of staying organized after the Big Day: creating a spreadsheet to track businesses contacted and when the name change was completed.
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