Name Change

[julisana]

Out of curiousity, how might one go about registering a legal alias. I got lazy and never actually registered my married name, but I also don't particularly want to go through a full name change (partially because I'm cheap and don't want to go about getting a new passport

Comments

[kansascitygirl]

Well...I'm not quite sure how helpful this will be, as I'm a bit confused about what all you do and do not want to change.

I used to work at SSA, and all you needed to get a new SS card with your married name was a valid marriage license (not a photocopy) and a driver's license in the old unmarried name. Once you have the new SS card, you can change your driver's license, but some DMV's will change it (or at least they used to, even though they were not supposed to) without an updated SS card.

For some reason, I was thinking there was a way of presenting your passport in the unmarried name without actually changing it to the new name and getting a new passport, but I might be mistaken. I bet your best bet there would be to check with the postal service who issue passports.

I bet this wasn't very helpful! :) Good luck!

[julisana]

Well, I don't want to legally change my name, as in, I don't want my only legal name to be my married name. I want my legal name to still be my maiden name, but I do want my married name to be valid and registered.

Does that make sense?

Duality

[teross50]

Yes it makes sense, but without hyphenating your given name, I do not believe, you can make the changes yo want to. You might double checkGoogle, typing ways to establish a legal alias, and see what you get. Again, I do not think you can have a dula identity, short of joining the CIA :-) They are recruiting now though.

[kansascitygirl]

Ah. Well, from a SSA perspective, you can only have one registered name "valid" at a time. They will keep track of all cards in every name you've had a card under, but only the most recent change is considered legally valid. However, I haven't worked there in a few years, so this might have changed (but I doubt it.)

[manuka]

As far as I know, there's no "registration" involved. Just use the name. Specifics depends on which side of the line you're on, but in KS, just use the name.

In KS, a "full name change" is the same idea, just start using it, and convert over your various documents, accounts, etc. - there's no legal paperwork involved - however, it often requires beating the DMV over the head with state law before they realize that you can do that. The social Security office is the place to start - walk in, say you want to do a name change, and they hand you a form. soon enough, you can get a new SS card in the new name, and the rest is a lot easier.