WARNING TO SUMMER BRIDES: 6 CRITICAL STEPS YOU NEED TO TAKE IF YOU PLAN TO CHANGE YOUR NAME
The wedding is
approaching, or just behind you. Before you go writing checks you
can’t cash, or booking that honeymoon in the married name, here are 6
important steps you need to take to save time, money, and convenience
down the road.
1. Banking – Before checks are made out in a brides newly married name, brides should
file for their new social security card and bring it along with their
new license/ID in their name and their certified marriage certificate to
change their name on their bank account(s) or open a joint account with
their spouse in their new name.
2. Credit Reports – Many brides are
curious about what happens to their credit when they change their
names. You DO NOT need to notify the 3 main credit bureaus (TransUnion,
Equifax and Experion) when you change your name. When you update your
name with creditors (bank, credit cards, etc…) the bureaus will add the
new name to your account, but they will also keep your maiden name on
file too. This ensures that your established credit remains with you
even as your name changes.
3. IRAs - Couples need to add each other to the IRAs as beneficiaries and make sure to use the name(s) taken post marriage.
4. Taxes - A
woman's name must be changed legally before it can be listed as a new
name on her taxes. She must file for her name change with Social
Security, using the SS-5 form. If a couple is married prior to December 31st,
they can file jointly on their taxes. File the IRS 8822 form to ensure
that they are aware of the new name. Note: if the IRS is not informed of
the bride’s
name change prior to tax season, but she has been paid in her married
name, they will hold her returns until they can verify her legal name.
If the bride is
paid in her married name, but has not legally changed it with the
Social Security/IRS, there can be major snags in tax returns as well as
social security benefits/payouts.
5. Honeymoon Flights – If the bride or
spouse books flights for the honeymoon in the married name, but the
driver’s license and/or passport has not been updated, most airlines
will require the ticket to be repurchased in the maiden name without a
refund. Take the time to get your name changed properly.
6. Change Your Name Properly -
You could wait in line for hours and file mountains of paperwork, and
there is also a lot of misleading information out there about how to
change your name when you get married. MissNowMrs.com, the first and
leading name change site for brides-to-be, cuts down more than 13 hours of paperwork and costs only $29.95. And, if you know a bride-to-be
you can pick up a MissNowMrs.com card at your local Rite Aid store.
It’s the perfect budget and time-saving wedding gift -- every time she
writes her name she’ll remember you!
