avi@pegasus.UUCP (Avi E. Gross) (01/01/70)
Many years ago, when I stepped in front of a judge to become a citizen of the US, I asked him to change my first name to Avi. There was no charge. He just issued my papers with the new name. Interestingly enough, that piece of paper is the only legal piece of identification I have (other than things like passports that were issued when I used my citizenship papers for ID). There does not exist any piece of paper that says that "Emeric Gross" changed his name to "Avi Emeric Gross"! When my parents left Romania, they were not allowed to take extraneous papers with them -- minor things like marriage licenses or birth certificates. I was listed as a write-in on my fathers passport consisting of my name and birth-date. This was traded in for a "green-card" a year later when we arrived here. I actually changed my name "by usage" in school. Every year I crossed out "Emeric" and replaced it with "Avi" on my report card. Starting in the sixth grade, the school silently capitulated in this passive battle and started using Avi. If my daughter ever wants to change her name when she is older, I would be willing to help her. Why should we be stuck with names chosen for us? I don't identify with my Romanian name since I was never called by that name anyway. It was given to me because the law mandated giving such names in another country. Of course, if I had to choose a name again today, I would probably choose a more "American" name than Avi :-) -- -=> Avi E. Gross @ AT&T Information Systems Laboratories (201) 576-6241 UUCP: suggested paths: [ihnp4, allegra, cbosg, ahuta, ...]!pegasus!avi ARPA: agross@ru-green
joj@rruxa.UUCP (J Jasutis) (08/17/85)
I am getting married soon. From what I have read, I understand I can legally choose to keep my name or change it, as long as I do so consistently. Ideally I would like to change my name for personal use (the idea of everyone in my new family having the same name appeals to me), but keep my name (&reputation) at work. At a later time when I changed jobs and my old name didn't mean anything to anyone I would use my new name everywhere. In some professions (e.g., acting) people have "professional" and private names. Is there any way I could do that? My main concern is my paycheck (could I cash it if it were in my maiden name) and my IRS records.
mfs@mhuxr.UUCP (SIMON) (08/19/85)
> I am getting married soon. From what I have read, I understand > I can legally choose to keep my name or change it, as long as I > do so consistently. Ideally I would like to change my name for > personal use (the idea of everyone in my new family having the > same name appeals to me), but keep my name (&reputation) at work. > At a later time when I changed jobs and my old name didn't mean > anything to anyone I would use my new name everywhere. > > In some professions (e.g., acting) people have "professional" and > private names. Is there any way I could do that? My main concern > is my paycheck (could I cash it if it were in my maiden name) > and my IRS records. So long as there is one Social Security Number referring to you, there is no legal problem with having two names, or twenty five, with two exceptions: your tax returns should all be in the same name. If you and your husband file together, you will unfortunately be known to local and national tax authorities as "Doe, John F and Jane Q.", where Q is either your middle initial or the initial of your maiden name. The second exception is the voter registration rolls. Voting authorities (at least those of Hudson COunty, NJ) are incapable of dealing with hyphenated names, so you may have to pick one or the other. Hyphenation may well be the best option, so banks and the like won't hassle you if checks are in one name and the account in another. Good luck. Marcel Simon
rosa@petsd.UUCP (Rosamaria Carbonell) (08/20/85)
> I am getting married soon. From what I have read, I understand > I can legally choose to keep my name or change it, as long as I > do so consistently. Ideally I would like to change my name for ... ------ ... >> exceptions: your tax returns should all be in the same name. If you and your >> husband file together, you will unfortunately be known to local and national >> tax authorities as "Doe, John F and Jane Q.", where Q is either your middle >> initial or the initial of your maiden name. The IRS will only mess up your name if you fail to read the instructions that come with the 1040 forms. They explicitly state if a couple is filing a joint return and they have different last names to fill them in as "Name1 Q. Doe and Name2 Z. Smith". I did so this year and received a check made out to both names. New Jersey can also deal with the situation. R. Carbonell (201) 758-7285 Perkin-Elmer Corporation Tinton Falls, NJ ...!vax135!petsd!rosa
spp@ucbvax.ARPA (Stephen P Pope) (08/22/85)
My wife changed her name when we got married. After filing a tax return under her new name, the IRS sent her a letter advising her to tell Social Security about her new name. Other than that, no action is required, at least in California. steve pope (ucbvax!spp)
bd@peora.UUCP (Bernie Dougan) (08/22/85)
Note that the Social Security Administration will not just
accept your word that your name has changed, for example, by
getting married. The SSA will send you a form that you must
complete and send to them with an original marriage certificate,
not a copy. The SSA returns the certificate in about 2 weeks.
--
Bernie Dougan
Perkin-Elmer Southern Development Center
2486 Sand Lake Road
Orlando, Florida 32809
(305)850-1040
{decvax!ucf-cs, ihnp4!pesnta, vax135!petsd}!peora!bded@mtxinu.UUCP (Ed Gould) (08/23/85)
In article <10060@ucbvax.ARPA> spp@ucbvax.ARPA (Stephen P Pope) writes: > > My wife changed her name when we got married. After filing >a tax return under her new name, the IRS sent her a letter >advising her to tell Social Security about her new name. Other >than that, no action is required, at least in California. In California, it's legal to use *any* name you choose, so long as it's not to defraud anyone. This is *not* true in all states. The Feds, however, don't accept anything but a birth certificate, court order, or marriage certificate when verifying names for passport applications. I don't know when else they're that picky. -- Ed Gould mt Xinu, 2910 Seventh St., Berkeley, CA 94710 USA {ucbvax,decvax}!mtxinu!ed +1 415 644 0146 "A man of quality is not threatened by a woman of equality."
stevev@tekchips.UUCP (Steve Vegdahl) (08/26/85)
> Note that the Social Security Administration will not just > accept your word that your name has changed, for example, by > getting married. The SSA will send you a form that you must > complete and send to them with an original marriage certificate, > not a copy. The SSA returns the certificate in about 2 weeks. When we got married, my wife notified SS that she was changing her name, and they told her the same thing: they needed the original marriage license. Her reaction was, I'M NOT TRUSTING THOSE BOZOS WITH MY MARRIAGE LICENSE! (Not to mention the USPS.) Instead, she went to the nearest SS office and physically applied for the name change. Steve Vegdahl Computer Research Lab. Tektronix, Inc. Beaverton, Oregon
moiram@tektronix.UUCP (Moira Mallison ) (08/26/85)
In article <1515@peora.UUCP> bd@peora.UUCP (Bernie Dougan) writes: >Note that the Social Security Administration will not just >accept your word that your name has changed, for example, by >getting married. The SSA will send you a form that you must >complete and send to them with an original marriage certificate, >not a copy. The SSA returns the certificate in about 2 weeks. I changed my name "by common usage" about ten years ago. Meaning that I have no official document stating that I paid $ to a court to do it; I simply starting using "Moira Mallison" exclusively. I had no particular problems with SSA. I think all that was required was a notarized document that I didn't intend fraud, and that I was going to use the new name exclusively. Moira (don't you wonder what it was before?) Mallison tektronix!moiram
spp@ucbvax.ARPA (Stephen P Pope) (08/27/85)
Actually, the passport office didn't want a copy of
the marriage certificate when my wife and I went in there
to apply. They only needed birth certificates (obviously,
my wife's has her maiden name on it) and took our word
for it that we were married and had the same last name.
This probably only works if you go in together.
Through procrastination we have yet to inform Social
Security of the fact that my wife changed her name, so
I don't know what they require.
steve pope (spp@berkeley) (..ucbvax!spp)inc@fluke.UUCP (Gary Benson) (08/28/85)
*** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE *** *** OK, HERE GOES! READY? *** > I changed my name "by common usage" about ten years ago. Meaning > that I have no official document stating that I paid $ to a court > to do it; I simply starting using "Moira Mallison" exclusively. > I had no particular problems with SSA. I think all that was required > was a notarized document that I didn't intend fraud, and that I > was going to use the new name exclusively. > > Moira (don't you wonder what it was before?) Mallison I changed my name by the legal route, and it involved paying absolutely NO $ to a court. I filed my intent with the court, which then gave me a list of guidelines and suggested people to tell. It's really for your own convenience - I didn't even have to pay court costs, because the judge just signed the decree in his chambers. The only requirement was a want-ad running once/week for three consecutive weeks stating the intention. Most of the guidelines were in the way of a checklist reminding me who to tell...SS of course was on top, but also the State Department for passport, Motor Vehicle Department, debtors, creditors, and employer. Some wanted copies of the decree, so I sent photocopies. I imagine the whole affair wound up costing me 15 bucks for the legal forms, want ad and photocopies. I wanted to correct the impression that you left your readers with that a name change might involve some high-buck court costs or something... -- Gary Benson * John Fluke Mfg. Co. * PO Box C9090 * Everett WA * 98206 MS/232-E = = {allegra} {uw-beaver} !fluke!inc = = (206)356-5367 _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-ascii is our god and unix is his profit-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
charli@cylixd.UUCP (Charli Phillips) (08/29/85)
Just out of curiosity: I took my husband's last name when I married five years ago. I went down to the Social Security office to change my name. They were taking a holiday. After two more unsuccessful trips, I called to see if they would mail me the forms. They wouldn't. Said I could come by and pick the form up and mail it in. (Lots of help, huh.) Then I found out that, if I did mail the form, I would have to send my REAL marriage license with it, not a copy. Do you think I trusted them with it? NO! So I decided not to bother. I figured they post by account number, not name anyway. The only time it's come up since then is that, when my husband and I filed our first joint tax return, the IRS sent us a letter saying the name on the form didn't match the name on my Social Security account and asking me to verify that my name and the number were both correct. I did so. Is there any real need to hassle with Social Security over my name? If so, what is it? charli
moiram@tektronix.UUCP (Moira Mallison ) (08/29/85)
>> Moira Mallison >> I changed my name "by common usage" about ten years ago. Meaning >> that I have no official document stating that I paid $ to a court >> to do it; > Gary Benson >I changed my name by the legal route, and it involved paying absolutely NO $ >to a court... >I wanted to correct the impression that you left your readers with that a >name change might involve some high-buck court costs or something... This is a matter of state law. In California (where I lived at the time), it is considered legal to change one's name by common usage. In some states, it is not. I checked into what it would take to get a "legal document" here in Oregon when I was decided I wanted a passport. It is about $50, payable to some court or other. Not a *high* legal cost, I agree. Moira Mallison tektronix!moiram
smb@ulysses.UUCP (Steven Bellovin) (08/30/85)
> I changed my name "by common usage" about ten years ago. Meaning > that I have no official document stating that I paid $ to a court > to do it; I simply starting using "Moira Mallison" exclusively. > I had no particular problems with SSA. I think all that was required > was a notarized document that I didn't intend fraud, and that I > was going to use the new name exclusively. This doesn't always work. Several years ago, a friend of mine decided to regain her original name -- at the time she was married (1968), retaining one's name was unheard of. The laws of North Carolina allowed one to change one's name either by court order, or by the common law procedure of simply using the new name. Since the formal mechanism could, by statute, only be used once in a lifetime, and since there seemed to be little advantage to it, she elected to use the other procedure. She had no problem except with the driver's license folks; she waited six months and asked again, and they changed their records with no further questions. About two years later, she moved to conservative area of Virginia (Lynchburg, I believe), and tried to register to vote. The dialog went something like this: Q: Are you married? A: Yes. Q: Is that your husband's last name? A: No. Q: Do you have a court order? A: No. Q: Then we can't allow you to register. The local D.A., apart from intimating that she must be an immoral commie, threatened to prosecute her for attempted election fraud. My friend im- mediately contacted an ACLU attorney; he advised her that while there was no danger of criminal prosecution (and indeed no charges were ever filed), she would be unlikely to win a suit against the election board. After all, they were not denying her the right to use the name of her choice, merely insisting that the proper paperwork be used. So she gave in and asked the attorney to file the necessary papers for her. What makes this case especially unusual, though, is that it's really a case of Virginia not honoring the laws of North Carolina -- my friend had legally changed her name in accordance with the laws of the state where she resided at the time.
see1@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP (E.K. Seebacher) (09/02/85)
>> I changed my name "by common usage" about ten years ago. ... >> >> Moira (don't you wonder what it was before?) Mallison > >I changed my name by the legal route, and it involved paying absolutely NO $ >to a court. I filed my intent with the court, which then gave me a list of >guidelines and suggested people to tell. ... > - I didn't even have to pay court costs, because the judge just >signed the decree in his chambers. The only requirement was a want-ad running >once/week for three consecutive weeks stating the intention. > ... I imagine the whole affair wound up >costing me 15 bucks for the legal forms, want ad and photocopies. > > Gary Benson Gasp. Choke. I paid this county almost $190 when I changed my name last year, and I made damn sure that several sources said it was REQUIRED first (you know how long it takes to save that much as an undergrad on financial aid?). Fifty bucks of that went for the want ads, which I believe had to run for six weeks, and which they explained must be run in something called _the_Law_Bulletin_. The rest was for court costs, and I had the judge sign the decree in his chambers, too. Is this just typical Chicago graft???! Some of the sources I checked with were consumer-legal-help type groups. As I told Moira in my reply to her original posting, though, I haven't re- gretted going the legal route (although I'm still sitting here fuming over the cost), just because I needed those documents in hand when preparing for battle with: - the GSL people; - the University of Chicago (they were the worst, and it wasn't even my last name that got changed!); - the Illinois State Scholarship Commission; - the Department of Motor Vehicles (which wants an ORIGINAL birth certificate -- that one took several months to obtain); - the SSA. That's another thing. The county clerk advised me to get three or four "originals" of the decree, so I could send them off to various agencies (at two dollars apiece, naturally). Every place I mailed a decree to sent it back safely. I guess I was just lucky. (Anyone want to comment on Cook County "requirements"? I've always been addicted to local politics, but the thought of somebody's brother having a night out on me .... grrrrrrrrrrrr....) -- Ellen Keyne Seebacher ihnp4!gargoyle!sphinx!see1
sed408@ihlpg.UUCP (s. dugan) (09/06/85)
> > Is there any real need to hassle with Social Security over my name? If > so, what is it? > > charli It is my understanding that you may hurt your chances of collecting Soc. Sec. if you don't have the paper-work up to date about your name. -- Sarah E. Dugan "Thank God It's Friday." ########################################################################### # AT&T Bell Labs IH 1D-408 The Forest (home) # # Naperville-Wheaton Rd. 1353 Crab Apple Court Apt. 101 # # Naperville, Illinois 60566 Naperville, Illinois 60540 # # (312) 979 - 5545 (312) 355 - 0445 # ###########################################################################
bobn@bmcg.UUCP (Bob Nebert) (09/09/85)
> When we got married, my wife notified SS that she was changing her > name, and they told her the same thing: they needed the original > marriage license. Her reaction was, I'M NOT TRUSTING THOSE BOZOS > WITH MY MARRIAGE LICENSE! (Not to mention the USPS.) Instead, she > went to the nearest SS office and physically applied for the name > change. > Steve Vegdahl > Computer Research Lab. > Tektronix, Inc. > Beaverton, Oregon I agree with your wife. I don't give anybody my original anything. I'm still waiting for California to return my original birth certificate from when I applied for my passport. It's only been two years. Maybe they have been busy huh?
adams@tymix.UUCP (Christina E. Adams) (09/10/85)
> In California, it's legal to use *any* name you choose, so long as > it's not to defraud anyone. This is *not* true in all states. > The Feds, however, don't accept anything but a birth certificate, > court order, or marriage certificate when verifying names for > passport applications. I don't know when else they're that picky. > > -- > Ed Gould mt Xinu, 2910 Seventh St., Berkeley, CA 94710 USA Ed is right. Changing your name in California is trivial. I just went through this when I got married in February I decided to change not only my last name but my first and middle name also( for reasons not relevant to the point). The only real hassle was the bank. Though, the FEDS may not be as picky as you may think. I had this silly idea that I could order new checks and by the time I got back from my honeymoon everything would be all done, right? WRONG! The banks here want to see documentation of any name change. Or, two pieces of ID in the name you want to use. It got pretty confusing. I thought I was going to have to go the legal route which would have been around $150 here in California. However, I first purchased a book called "How to legally change your name in California". As stated before, you can legally use any name you want, as long as you don't do it for fraudulent purposes. So the drivers liscence was easy. They just asked what name I wanted on my liscence, and put it on, not changing the number. They didn't require ANY proof of name change. Its amazing, after you get a drivers liscence, you can get your name changed on ANYTHING. The book, which cost $9.95, gave many ways to do this, including the court thing. It also had a form called "DECLARATION OF LEGAL NAME CHANGE" which you fill out with your old name, your new name, birthplace and birthdate. You sign it and have it noterized (about $5). This little piece of paper was (to my surprise) acceptable to the FEDS. SSA accepted it, though granted, they wanted to see the original, and I even used it for my passport. Now, the one thing I don't have is a new birth certificate. Though, with my name correct now on my passport and Social Security card and my drivers liscence, I cant see where I'd have any problems. I didn't have to put an ad in any paper or even file this piece of paper with the courts. I just kept it. And presented it as needed.
wjh@bonnie.UUCP (Bill Hery) (09/17/85)
> I agree with your wife. I don't give anybody my original anything. > I'm still waiting for California to return my original birth certificate > from when I applied for my passport. It's only been two years. > Maybe they have been busy huh? > I knew California was bizzare, but I didn't know Californians needed passports to leave the state. United States passports are issued by the US State Department, and can be obtained only through them or US Post Offices.
mcdaniel@uiucdcsb.Uiuc.ARPA (09/17/85)
/* Written 1:38 pm Sep 9, 1985 by bobn@bmcg.UUCP in uiucdcsb:net.legal */ I'm still waiting for California to return my original birth certificate from when I applied for my passport. /* End of text from uiucdcsb:net.legal */ So THAT'S why everyone says California is so strange: foreign countries are always strange!
ed@mtxinu.UUCP (Ed Gould) (09/18/85)
>I'm still waiting for California to return my original birth certificate >from when I applied for my passport. It's only been two years. Well, no wonder you haven't gotten it back. To where did you expect to travel with a California passport? Texas? :-) -- Ed Gould mt Xinu, 2910 Seventh St., Berkeley, CA 94710 USA {ucbvax,decvax}!mtxinu!ed +1 415 644 0146 "A man of quality is not threatened by a woman of equality."
smb@ulysses.UUCP (Steven Bellovin) (09/18/85)
> > I agree with your wife. I don't give anybody my original anything. > > I'm still waiting for California to return my original birth certificate > > from when I applied for my passport. It's only been two years. > > Maybe they have been busy huh? > > > > I knew California was bizzare, but I didn't know Californians needed passports > to leave the state. > > United States passports are issued by the US State Department, and can be > obtained only through them or US Post Offices. Wrong, or at least obsolete. In at least some areas, local government agencies can act as agents; I believe they get an extra fee from you. For example, in Union County, NJ, the court clerk will accept passsport applications.
hrs@homxb.UUCP (H.SILBIGER) (09/19/85)
< ...didn't know Californians needed a passport o leave the state! Many Californians think you should have a passportto control admissions to California. Seriously, you can apply for passports at County Clerks in NJ, and perhaps other states as well. They don't issue them, but process the application before sending it to the State Dept. This is often much quicker than going the US Passport offfive route. Herman Silbiger ihnp4!hpmxb!hrs
ayers@convexs.UUCP (09/20/85)
>I knew California was bizzare, but I didn't know Californians needed passports >to leave the state. Not to leave, just to re-enter... (And they said to me "You've lost your mind!" and I said "No I haven't, I just can't remember where I left it...") B~)B~)B~)B~)B~)B~)B~) B~) B~) B~)B~)B~)B~)B~) B~) B~) B~)B~)B~)B~)B~)B~)B~) B~) B~) B~) B~)B~)B~)B~) B~) B~) / B~) B~) B~) B~) B~)B~)B~)B~) B~) B~) / B~) B~) ;-)
stan@hou2f.UUCP (S.GLAZER) (09/23/85)
The State of California issues passports?
bobn@bmcg.UUCP (Bob Nebert) (09/24/85)
> >I'm still waiting for California to return my original birth certificate > >from when I applied for my passport. It's only been two years. > > Well, no wonder you haven't gotten it back. To where did you expect > to travel with a California passport? Texas? :-) > OK OK OK OK I made a mistake (gasp/horror). When I posted the original statement it somehow got turned around while going from my head to my fingers. What I meant was I sent my original birth certificate (obtained in California) to the Feds to get my passport. I never got my cert. back even tho I got my passport. I must admit tho it was fun reading everybody's response to it and before I would travel to texas I would get shots and carry drinking water|-)