Busted But Not Responsible? Tips For Your Defense

If you've been arrested for a crime you didn't commit, you need to defend your legal rights. You have the right to an attorney who can help you present your case. After being wrongly accused of something myself, I learned quickly how to navigate the legal avenues to have my case dismissed. My attorney was a great resource for building the case, and because of my understanding of the law, it worked. I created this site to share what I learned along the way and some other great tips for others who have been wrongly accused and arrested for a crime.

New Marital Status – New Name?

Law Blog

With divorce comes an opportunity to make a fresh start in many areas of your life. If you have been using your husband's last name for a while, you might be ready to change that too. Read and find out more about what's involved in making this change with a divorce decree.

Consider Keeping Your Married Name

Just because you can doesn't mean you should but changing your name through a divorce is undoubtedly the easiest way to do so. Think it through, though. You will need to change a lot of personal documents and it might be confusing if you have children with a different last name. While you might just decide to keep your married last name because it's easy, consider that your ex may remarry creating more than one woman with the same last name.

Consider Going Back to Your Maiden Name

The term "maiden name" seems outdated but you have the right to take that name back now if you wish. Just let your divorce lawyer know you want to do so when the divorce papers are prepared. If not, it is assumed that you will keep your married name. If you wait until your divorce is final, you may need to go through a separate court filing and hearing to make the change. You can begin using your maiden name any time you want but you are not legally Ms. Maiden Name until after the divorce is final. It is your final paperwork that you will use to officially change your name on your driver's license and more. The big issues to take care of sooner rather than later is the Social Security Administration (SSA) and your identification. The SSA will notify the IRS of the change for you. You might want to make a list of every document that has to be changed. Don't forget insurance, bank accounts, deeds, car registrations, credit cards, work, utilities, and more.

Not Just For Female Spouses

Nowadays, some men take an equitable approach to names after marriage and take their wife's name as part of their own. They might hyphenate their last name with their bride's last name, for example. If so, these enlightened but divorcing men are eligible to de-hyphenate their name with a divorce if they wish. What neither party may do, however, is to choose an entirely new name. With a divorce decree, you can only go back to a previous name. If you want something else, you must file the paperwork separately from the divorce decree.

Talk to your divorce lawyer about the ramifications of keeping your name or reverting back to your maiden name.  

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11 August 2020