Don’t Change Your Name Until After The Wedding
Posted in wedding by: Aaron HuPerhaps one of the most overlooked and difficult decisions couples face when deciding to get married is the name change. While it is customary for the bride to take the husbands last name, it is not something that has to be done. Once the decision is made of what the name will be changed to, if at all, here are five things you will need to know.
The first thing you will want to do is to call your local government office and have the forms mailed to you. Many towns used to hand out the forms when you applied for the marriage license but this practice is no longer followed in most cities. Once you have the forms, make sure you have all of your ducks in a row before you submit them. It is important that you fill out this form very carefully and check your spelling or you may wind up with a variation of the name and have to submit the forms twice.
Catch up any payments owed in your old name before the change is made. Make sure you receive any deliveries that require a form of identification before you destroy your old ID cards. It would be a shame if your unique wedding favors could not be delivered because you could not be found or your information changed before they arrived. Your guest would be disappointed if they do not receive wedding favors to keep as a memento of your joyous occasion.
Make a list of all your contacts in the outside world that need to be informed of the change. This means that you also need to inform your credit card companies of the change to avoid any legal hassles. Be very wary of frauds when you do this. Identity thieves are smart and just dying for a chance to get their foot in the door. If you post your wedding plans in your local newspaper’s announcements section and suddenly start receiving calls from your financial institutions asking for your pin or password to help you make the change, ignore them. Let them know that you will instigate the call to them when you are ready to do so and say goodbye.
Once you decide whose name your household utilities will be under, you will want to call those companies to make any necessary changes. Make sure the name has already been changed and have your checkbook handy. Most of these companies will require a zero balance before any changes can be made. While this is an inconvenience, it is a necessary inconvenience as the computers update the information to avoid any possible billing errors. Remember not to give any information or make payments over the phone unless you called them.
Another important step you will have to take when you change your name is one that is very often overlooked until it is too late. If you depend on social networking for any phase of your career, you will need to take the time to visit each one of these sites and make the corrections. It would be a shame to miss an opportunity because of an oversight that results in important papers or letters being sent to the wrong address in the wrong name. The time it takes the documentation to finally find you could very well cost you that important interview you have been waiting for.
Do not lose track of your old means of identification. If you are keeping your old drivers license as a memento, put it someplace safe and sound so no-one but you can get your hands on it. When you receive those new credit cards with your new name proudly emboldened on them, destroy the old ones completely. It only takes a single oversight to lose your identity to unscrupulous and ever-present shysters who know every trick in the book and prey upon the careless. They know you have a lot on your mind with a wedding so be careful.
Aaron Hu has authored on an extensive range of topics related to the wedding industry. If you are looking for Wedding favors, E-WeddingFavors.com has the biggest selection available. You will also find Wedding Favors and much more, all at very affordable prices.