New Spouse, New Name, New Journey: Embrace Your New Married Life.
With Personalized Name Change Services for Every Newlywed.
As your wedding day approaches, gifts from family and friends begin pouring in…hooray! You’ll also start receiving wedding checks. Monetary gifts are wonderful, as they allow you to purchase exactly what you want/need for married life, but they can occasionally cause trouble at the bank. For putting that money to work, see our newlywed budget tips.
Well-meaning relatives LOVE to write checks to Mr. and Mrs. Jones. Which is great, if you’re planning to change your name to Jones, but what if you’re hyphenating or not changing your name after marriage, or if your spouse is taking your name? Whichever route you take, how to change your name after marriage covers the paperwork for each one.
Name change does make cashing
wedding checks tricky
However, if you both set up a joint bank account before your wedding, most banks will allow you to sign the checks and deposit them regardless of what versions of your names appear on the check. If a check is made out to both you and your spouse, then when you are depositing checks with two names, make sure that you both sign the back of it. Still deciding how to structure your money as a couple? Here is how to weigh joint vs separate bank accounts after marriage.
If you run into a clerk that is a stickler for the rules, you can wait to deposit the check until you can present a certified copy of your marriage certificate. The other solution? Use your bank’s mobile deposit feature to snap a photo of the check, or fall back on an ATM. Many newlyweds find that remote deposit sidesteps the name-mismatch conversation entirely.
Also keep in mind that in most cases you do not need to pay taxes on when depositing wedding checks. Once your name change is underway, check which name to use when filing taxes after a name change, since a mismatch with Social Security records can get your return rejected.
Wedding Check Deposit Tips:
1. Create a joint bank account BEFORE your wedding
2. If a wedding check is made out to both of you, make sure that you both sign it before depositing
3. You can use your certified marriage certificate to deposit checks made out to your married name
4. When all else fails, use your bank’s mobile app to deposit remotely, or head to an ATM, both handle name variations without a teller conversation.
New Spouse, New Name, New Journey: Embrace Your New Married Life.
With Personalized Name Change Services for Every Newlywed.