Name Change After Marriage for Newlyweds

Looking for name change advice or some tips for newlywed life? The MissNowMrs experts have created state-specific name change articles and checklists for you. We’ve chronicled our recommendations for how to travel while changing your name AND how to handle voting during the transition.

We’ve also compiled our best guidance for how to handle difficult sister in laws, holidays as newlyweds, the ever-annoying baby questions, and much more. Why? Because, while we are name change experts, we’re also newlywed wives, moms, and sisters.

We hope our name change advice articles help smooth your transition to your new name, and a whole new phase of life. Congratulations and best wishes from the entire MissNowMrs team!

Married Name Change & Voting | What You Need to Know

Today’s the day for midterm election voting and women all over the United States are lining up to cast their votes. If you’re newlywed and in the process of changing your name, this may affect your voter experience. Where you are in the process and which forms you filed when will determine which name you can vote under. We’ve got the scoop on married name change & voting.

If you’ve filed a voter registration form to update your name, you should be able to vote under your new married name. That is as long as you filed that form two or more weeks ago. The voter registration office needs time to process your request and amend their digital records. If you haven’t filed a voter registration form, but did update your name on your state driver’s license check the form you completed. Many states have a section on their driver’s license forms that allow you to update your voter information along with your license/ID.

If you have yet to file any of your name change forms, you should vote under your maiden name. Or vote with the name currently listed on your voter registration card. Confused? A quick call to your state voter registration office can clarify which name you’re voting under.

Now that you know the ins and outs of Married Name Change & Voting. Whatever your political party and name change status, go rock the vote ladies. It’s a right that our predecessors fought for!

Married Name Change and Politics (seriously)

Name change and politics… two controversial topics. From the title of this post you may be assuming that I’ll discuss the delicate nature of name change after marriage and all of the various things to consider before making your decision. In fact, this blog is literally about married name change in politics. As the founder of an online name change service, many people misconstrue my stance on name change after marriage. I don’t actually believe that every woman should change her name. I simply believe that if a woman is going to change to her married name, she shouldn’t waste 13 hours re-inventing the wheel and fighting red tape.

Name change is a personal decision and should be left up to each individual. In that vein, their decision on name change should never be held against them. Michelle Nunn is a democratic senate candidate in Georgia. Women as senators…great idea right? There shouldn’t be any sexist push back on that concept in 2014…right? Wrong.

Ms. Nunn’s opponents are trying to use her lack of married name change against her. They contend that she is “riding her famous father’s coat tails” by using her maiden name as a candidate. While Nunn may receive some goodwill and recognition for her maiden name, her opponents also have political fame from their fathers’ names. Interestingly enough, those candidates didn’t change their names after marriage (as they’re men). Pot meet kettle.

Your thoughts on this situation around name change and politics would be greatly appreciated. Please leave a comment!

Same Sex Married Name Change: What Rules Apply Where

The Supreme Court’s decision to not hear state appeals on same sex marriages will result in the legalization of that practice in eleven more states across the U.S. This ruling caused five states to immediately legalize same sex marriage; they include: Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin. Colorado, Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina and Wyoming are overseen by appellate courts and must abide by their appeals court rulings. So they will also have to lift their bans on same sex marriage as well. This means that same sex couples in 30 states can marry in their home state and receive all of the legal benefits of marriage, including married name change.

Prior to the legalization of same-sex marriage, gay spouses were not issued a marriage license or marriage certificate. They were not able to use the married name change process to change their names. They instead had to petition the court system for a legal name change order and follow the legal name change process, which is both lengthy and expensive. Couples had to file numerous forms, be fingerprinted and run ads announcing the intended name change in local newspapers. This would only get them the name change order that is the legal document allowing them to file for their name change with government agencies.

Now, if a gay couple decides to marry in one of the 30 states that recognize their right to wed they will be issued a certified marriage certificate. That certificate can be used to file for a name change with the Social Security Administration, State Department (for a U.S. passport), the IRS, the United States Postal Service, as well as with state level offices such as the Motor Vehicle Administration and Voter Registration offices. While couples residing in states that have newly legalized same sex marriage may unfortunately meet resistance from office clerks. They can be confident that they have the legal right to change their names and enjoy newlywed life together.

Will Amal Alamuddin Change to George Clooney’s Last Name?

Will Amal Alamuddin change to George Clooney’s last name? George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin tied the knot a few days ago and now the entire world is wondering what’s next for the newlyweds. Will Amal change to her married last name? Will they start a family? Where will the live? While it’s none of our business, it’s fun to speculate!

Clooney’s bride is 36, which will affect her name change decision. Statistically, the older the bride is at the time of marriage the more likely she is to keep her maiden name in some way. Perhaps she will hyphenate Alamuddin-Clooney or take her maiden name as a middle name.

We think Amal should play the MarriedNameGame to see what her ideal name change option is based on 8 key name change factors in her life. Whatever name change option she chooses (or doesn’t), we wish both George and Amal a marriage filled with love and happiness that lasts a lifetime.

What do you think? Will Amal Alamuddin change to George Clooney’s last name? We’d love to hear your thoughts and predictions in a comment!

Jessica Simpson Is Changing to her Married Name

Did you hear that Jessica Simpson is changing to her married name? Newlywed Jessica Simpson announced on the Today Show that she is planning to change to her married name of Johnson. October is the height of newlywed name change and the star is one of many hundreds of thousands of women making the transition to Mrs. While Jessica is opting to replace Simpson with Johnson, she could have hyphenated both last names, taken both last names sans hyphen or taken her maiden name as a middle name.

Many stars opt to continue working under their maiden names despite changing their last names. It will be interesting to see what Jessica ends up doing with her name professionally. We sincerely hope she uses the MissNowMrs.com married name change service to make the completion and filing of her name change paperwork straightforward and fast! Congratulations Jessica and best wishes for your new marriage and new married name.