Husband taking wife's name after marriage?

[kwalla]

What is the name of your state? New York


What steps would I need to take if my husband has decided to take my last name after our marriage?

I know this is not the norm but I am figuring even the normal "legal name change" process would apply?

Are there any laws preventing this from occurring?

 

[You Are Guilty]

What steps would I need to take if my husband has decided to take my last name after our marriage?

Start here: http://www.courts.state.ny.us/courts/nyc/civil/namechanges.shtml

I know this is not the norm but I am figuring even the normal "legal name change" process would apply?

Yep.

Are there any laws preventing this from occurring?

Nope. As long as it's not for fraudulent purposes, anyone can change their name to anything they want.

 

[kwalla]

Nope, nothing fraudulent here! Just a potential husband with a very long/hard to pronounce last name that would like to simplify things by taking mine.


Thank you so much for your advice.

 

[You Are Guilty]

One last thing - I see the court site suggests an attorney. For whatever it's worth, I have never seen anyone use an attorney to file the petition. It's possibly the easiest thing to do in the courthouse and even if you get confused (not sure if that's even humanly possible), the clerks will walk you through it.

About the only catch is that in smaller counties, they may only hear name-change cases on certain days of the month (i.e. every other Thursday), in which case you might have to make two trips. Othewise, if your paperwork and payment is in order, it's a 1-2 hour process.

Good luck.