Name change question (technicalities!)

emilou02

We're getting married in Hamilton County in October. My Hamilton County driver's license expires on my birthday in August. Do I really need to get and pay for a new license twice in a matter of months, or is there a way to avoid this if I do change my name? (Not to mention we're probably going to end up living in NKY due to his job, so I may have to get yet another license if our residence changes!)

I am 87% certain that I will be taking his last name and keeping my last name as a second middle name.

Another option is to wait a while to change my name - maybe a year or so. A friend of mine didn't change her name until their first child was born. Any advantages/disadvantages to not doing this right away?

Ashes_3

You will have to get a new license prior to your wedding or legally in Ohio you won't be allowed to drive.
As for the name change you will have to get an attorney to file legal papers to change you name later. It will cost you money for attorney fee's and court cost's to change it later rather than the cost of your marriage license to do it now.

e_brenda

You should check with the social security office to see how long after your wedding date you have to change your name with just your marriage license. There should be some type of grace period, but I do not know what it is. I would be interested in this information too. I just got married in May and haven't filed any paperwork yet. If I happen to go to the office in the near future to take care of mine, I'll try to remember to ask.  

opiepress

It seems it's worth the added expense now rather than the legal hassels and even greater monetary expense further down the road if you wait.  The $100 or so for the two state's demands is money well spent for the peace of mind, don't you think? 

hccpsu

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_ohio-cincinnati_name-change-question-technicalities?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:108Discussion:3d4b55d2-b999-48f1-902b-43fd830825dfPost:c1bc0dae-d343-4602-b9c1-e86f17ea38d7">Re: Name change question (technicalities!)</a>:
[QUOTE]You will have to get a new license prior to your wedding or legally in Ohio you won't be allowed to drive. As for the name change you will have to get an attorney to file legal papers to change you name later. It will cost you money for attorney fee's and court cost's to change it later rather than the cost of your marriage license to do it now.
Posted by Ashes_3[/QUOTE]

You do not need an attorney to change your name if you're changing it due to marriage, even if you wait awhile to do it..  Just take your marriage license, etc. to the Social Security office and file for a name change.  Once you have your new SS card, you can take that to get a new DL.

You will need to get a new DL before yours expires, but you don't immediately need to get a new one as soon as you get married.  It does stink, though, that you have to pay for a new one--I had the same thing, paid for a new license for a name change, and then four months later had to renew my license--they didn't change the renewal date when I changed my name.