using different name professionally - Help!

[bostongirl]

Hi,
Got married a couple of months back and just discovered this forum.....
I'm struggling with the whole name change thing and hoping someone can give me some advice.
I want to change my name legally, but continue to use my maiden name professionally. It would be nice to have some ID with my maiden name on as I sometimes need it for work reasons (proof of ID to enter conventions).
So what I want to know is:
Is there any way of having a second name on passport or drivers licence (aka)?
Is it OK to keep a bank account in maiden name and use your maiden name?
It seems I have to change it with SSA to get a new drivers licence. Do I then have to change it on all my company docs? (I have my own company).
Any advice from people who have been through this is much appreciated!
Thanks

[munchkin]

I don't know about the rest, but no, you can only have on name on a passport and drivers license.
I'm keeping my name professionally and legally changing my name, but I'm changing everything to my legal name except for my press pass (I'm a journalist), so it's not a big deal to me.

[AshyBekka]

I'm with munchkin here. If it's that important to not change over business things, you may want to consider keeping your maiden name legally. Or, you could use your maiden name as your middle name, so your maiden name will still be on identification, etc. and people would know who you were.

[Heather]

Professionally what I would do is hyphenate. I'm not a huge fan of hyphenation, but for your purposes it may serve you well. You could use either name for work, business cards, letterhead, etc, but if you have both on there, you're covered. One or the other is your "alias" regardless of what you use all the time. Definitely keep one name for your driver's license, passport, etc. and it should be the same name that's on your social security card.

[Clarity]

Ok I don't know how this works but what if you hyphenate your names? Then you would have both names on your information. We have a professor here that hyphenate her name but goes by her married name day to day and her maiden name professionally. I don't know if that would be an option or not.

[Julz518]

I'm in almost the exact same situation. I would like to legally change my name, but continue to use my maiden name professionally. Except I have licenses and "stamps" that I think need to be in my legal name. I don't want to be known as one thing at work but then stamp documents using a different name. However, I don't think I need a driver's license/passport/bank account in my professional name, so that makes it a little easier.

I don't know what the legal implications are (but i need to look into it), but I was thinking about hyphenating. My last name would then be Parsons-Fitzsimmons. So all of my legal documents would have that last name on them, but I can't think of many instances where I would be required to use the full last name (like in Latin American Countries where they only use their first last name). I'm hoping I could just sign "Parsons" on work documents and be known as "Mrs. Fitzsimmons" in the community. I really don't ever want to have to sign "Parsons-Fitzsimmons" (or Fitzsimmons for that matter ).

The only catch I can think of is if the bank requires me to use the full last name, b/c then I would have to sign all of my checks that way!

[Leslee&Jake]

Originally Posted by Heather

Professionally what I would do is hyphenate. I'm not a huge fan of hyphenation, but for your purposes it may serve you well. You could use either name for work, business cards, letterhead, etc, but if you have both on there, you're covered. One or the other is your "alias" regardless of what you use all the time. Definitely keep one name for your driver's license, passport, etc. and it should be the same name that's on your social security card.

Completely agree. I think hyphenated names are wonderful!

[TheaterDiva1]

Can you just have business cards printed with your maiden name, and carry a copy of your marriage certificate as ID (to explain any name changes)?

[wynelle]

There was a woman arrested recently--- routine traffic stop, but then the name on her driver's license and the name on her SSN card didn't match. So she was arrested until it could all be straightened out.

I was sent a letter from the state saying that my driver's license would be suspended since the names didn't match, and I must correct the problem.

I kept my "first" married name when I married my current husband. On all my legal forms--- WWN, will, Living Trust, DL, Medical license, insurance, etc, it is the same legal name. But socially, I am refered to sometimes as "Mrs. James (new husbands name)", but that is a different issue. When we file our joint tax return, I must use my real legal name.

A lot of professionals do not change their names when they get married, although socially they may use the husband's name. Sometimes, for bank accounts, etc, you might have to have a business license that identifies you as Jane Smith, DBA (doing business as) Jane Jones. If I remember correctly, for a while Courtney Cox was called Courtney Cox Arquette, but she is back to being Courtney Cox. Same with Jennifer Aniston-- she signed things as Jennifer Aniston Pitt for a while, but never used that name on the TV show.

The issue from a legal point used to be "intent to defraud." If you are being paid under one name/SSN, and then have insurance with a different name or file taxes under a different name... it could be perceived as a deliberate intent to obfuscate, confuse or defraud. The current laws deal with the Homeland Security Act--- if you are "legally" trying to use two separate names, then the Homeland Security people seem to feel you are using a "false identity."

[Yelycrazygirl]

Originally Posted by wynelle

There was a woman arrested recently--- routine traffic stop, but then the name on her driver's license and the name on her SSN card didn't match. So she was arrested until it could all be straightened out.

I was sent a letter from the state saying that my driver's license would be suspended since the names didn't match, and I must correct the problem.

I kept my "first" married name when I married my current husband. On all my legal forms--- WWN, will, Living Trust, DL, Medical license, insurance, etc, it is the same legal name. But socially, I am refered to sometimes as "Mrs. James (new husbands name)", but that is a different issue. When we file our joint tax return, I must use my real legal name.

A lot of professionals do not change their names when they get married, although socially they may use the husband's name. Sometimes, for bank accounts, etc, you might have to have a business license that identifies you as Jane Smith, DBA (doing business as) Jane Jones. If I remember correctly, for a while Courtney Cox was called Courtney Cox Arquette, but she is back to being Courtney Cox. Same with Jennifer Aniston-- she signed things as Jennifer Aniston Pitt for a while, but never used that name on the TV show.

The issue from a legal point used to be "intent to defraud." If you are being paid under one name/SSN, and then have insurance with a different name or file taxes under a different name... it could be perceived as a deliberate intent to obfuscate, confuse or defraud. The current laws deal with the Homeland Security Act--- if you are "legally" trying to use two separate names, then the Homeland Security people seem to feel you are using a "false identity."

That's so complicated.......

[wynelle]

I guess the simple answer is "No. You cannot be legally identified by different names. Although you an have a professional nom de plume."

[ljeagle]

I took my maiden name as my middle name. On both my drivers and pass port it has Lesley maiden married name.