CHANGING YOUR NAME AFTER MARRIAGE
Once you are married, you have a few options regarding your name.
It is traditional in our culture for a woman to change her surname to her husband’s surname after marriage but it is not legally compulsory. Some men decide that they want to adopt their new wife’s surname. This is possible also.
Your options are:
1. You can leave your surname as it is and take no action.
2. You can change your surname to your husband’s surname.
3. You can have a hyphenated name which is a combination of both surnames, eg Smith-Jones.
4. You can use both names in different settings, ie, you may wish to retain your previous name for work or professional use and adopt your spouse’s name for family and other uses.
5. If you wish to adopt a different surname altogether, you will need to go through the legal name change procedure. This is done through Births, Deaths & Marriages.
Frequently Asked Questions
• How soon should I change my name? There is no time limit and you may change to your married name at any time after your wedding.
• What documents do I need to change my name? Most importantly, your registered marriage certificate. Some places may need other proof of identity.
• Who do I have to notify and how do I do it? You will have about 20 to 30 companies & government departments to notify, eg, RTA, your employer, Tax Department, phone company, etc. etc.
• Is there any easy way to do this? There are a number of providers who will prepare all of your name change documents online for a small charge.
• Two that I know of are http://www.easynamechange.com.au/ and http://www.afterthewedding.com.au/
• There are other companies as well & you will be able to find them by searching on the web.
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1 year ago
Great advice Elaine. I think it;s nice we are still choosing to take on the male's last name. It is a nice tradition. How it all started and why, I would like to know.
ReplyDeleteIt's lovely we are still choosing to take on our husband's surnames but many people I know these days are choosing to keep their maiden name for work purposes. One friend of mine even chose to make her maiden name her middle name and her husband's surname her surname. There are so many options these days - anything seems to go!
ReplyDeleteYes Renee, we have many options these days. Some husbands even decide to take their wife's name. It's easy to do once you are married as long as you have your registered marriage certificate.
ReplyDelete