Residents of Maryland could find some information regarding name changes following divorce interesting. The question has arisen among wives who took their husband’s last name when they got married as to how to change it back when they get divorced.
It’s fairly simple and straightforward in most states and just requires a judge entering a formal order that will restore a divorced woman’s name back to her maiden name. In some cases, a court order upon finalization of a divorce will already contain this name restoration. Either way, a change back to a maiden name is much easier than a complete name change.
Then, all a woman needs is a certified copy of the court order to prove that her name has been restored. This is what anyone will need for changing bank accounts, I.D. cards and anything else requiring proof of the name change.
Another question regarding name change involves children of a woman who gets divorced. When she changes her name back to her maiden name, can she then change those of her children? It has remained a tradition throughout the years in most courts that the child’s father has the right to demand his child keep his last name. This is, of course, dependent upon his continuance in performing his parental duties. Some courts are approaching this name change issue in a different way these days. They will take under consideration a number of factors to determine if the child’s name should be changed.
When any woman finds herself divorced and wanting to change her name back to her maiden name, a family law attorney could help by advising her of her rights and helping her to file the requisite paperwork. If she has children and wants them to have the same last name, an attorney could help her with that process as well.
