The team has seriously impressive expertise in all sorts of name change situations, so you can go to them with any specific questions you may have about how to hyphenate your last name. ( Psst… we also have how-to guides by state.) There's also the option of a name change service like HitchSwitch, which really cuts down on the research and paperwork you have to do. In that case, you have until after the wedding to decide on a course of action.Ĭheck out The Knot's step-by-step guide to changing your last name. In other states, the application asks for just your original names. Pay close attention, because if yours does and you don't, you'll have to petition the court for a name change instead (which is a much more involved-and usually costly-process). In some states, the marriage license application asks soonlyweds to declare their married name before the wedding day. The document lets you legally take your partner's surname or a combination of your two last names after marriage. Once the wedding is over and you're ready to adopt a hyphenated last name, you'll need your marriage certificate to initiate the change. If your two last names are really long combined, they may not fit and you could actually have to choose a different surname option! ( Even if they do fit on your IDs, you may run into future roadblocks writing them out in full. "Remember that certain IDs (your passport, driver's license, Social Security card, etc.) are only so big," he warns. And according to Jake Wolff, the founder of popular name change service HitchSwitch, character limits come into play too. Some online forms may not correctly read or register your name (think: counting the hyphen as an invalid "special character").
Believe it or not, there could also be technical difficulties. If you become a parent and one partner has a hyphenated last name while the other doesn't, you may have a different last name than your children.
However, there are some drawbacks to hyphenating.
It allows you to retain your identity while still legally adopting your partner's moniker. The biggest advantage of hyphenated last names is the absence of having to choose between two last names. What are the pros and cons of hyphenated names?
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