Changing Your Name After Your Divorce

David P. Badanes, Esq.

If you want to change your name after your divorce, here is how you go about it. You do not have to be divorced to change your name, you can change your name anytime you want. However, one advantage of waiting until after your divorce to change your name is that it is easier to do after a divorce. With a divorce, the court will sign a Judgment of Divorce, which should contain a clause that gives you the automatic right to change your name.

As stated above, the first step is to get your Judgment of Divorce and make sure that it states that you can change your name to the name you want after the divorce. The Judgment of Divorce should be a certified copy. Your attorney should be able to provide you with a certified copy of your Judgment of Divorce. You may want to get 3 certified copies of the Judgment of Divorce. You can obtain a certified copy of your Judgment of Divorce from the county clerk’s office. If you have lost the certified copy, you can go to the county clerk’s office to obtain another one (there will be a small fee).

Technically, the Judgment of Divorce is all you need to establish that you have a new name. However, you should also get a new Social Security card and a new Driver’s License.

To get a new Social Security card, go to your local Social Security office. You will need to bring the certified copy of the Judgment of Divorce and your birth certificate. Getting a new social security card is as simple as filling out the form.

To get a new driver’s license, you go to the Department of Motor Vehicles. Bring the certified Judgment of Divorce, your new Social Security card and your birth certificate. Fill out the form and voila, you have a new driver’s license with your new name on it.

Now you should also change your bank account records, credit cards and anything else that you want to have your new name on it. Typically, to get your new name on these records, you will only need your new Social Security card and the new Driver’s License. However, your certified Judgment of Divorce can also be used to prove that you have a new name.

David Badanes and the Badanes Law Office provide expert advice and legal services in matrimonial (divorce) law. If you need a Long Island divorce attorney, contact David Badanes and the Badanes Law Office today at631-239-1702, email me at david@dbnylaw.com or visit our web site: www.dbnylaw.com. The Badanes Law Office has offices in Northport and Uniondale.

Please “like” us on Facebook to get important industry news, tips and articles.