Change my last name

It was Wednesday and I went to the SS office at lunch. With 14 people ahead of me, I had to leave. I figure this might be the right time as my wallet wass tolen and I need to start fresh with lots of things. My husband still thinks it will never happn and it sure looks that way!

9:03am arrived at Social Security office parking lot.
9:04am arrived at Social Security Office door.
Read: “This office closed Tuesday January 2 in mourning of President Gerald Ford”

Walked away defeated. Bank closed. DMV closed. No way to make progress on changing my name today. Hoping I can schedule it in for later this week.

I’m getting nervous about this! Part of me is chickening out. If I had more energy, I’d try to figure out what my hang-ups are about it.

is the day I plan to go to the SS office. Hopefully, that is all I have to do to get this started.

Ok, I’ve taken the time to look into this.

IRS TAX TIP 2006-16
Newlyweds (I assume I fit this category even though I don’t think we’re still considered newlyweds) and the recently divorced should ensure the name on their tax return matches the name registered with the Social Security Administration. A mismatch could unexpectedly increase a tax bill or reduce the size of any refund.

• For recently married taxpayers, the tax scenario begins when the bride says “I do.” If she takes her husband’s last name, but doesn’t tell the SSA about the name change, a complication may result. If the couple files a joint tax return with her new name, the IRS computers will not be able to match the new name with the Social Security Number.

From ssa.gov
If you legally change your name because of marriage, divorce, court order or any other reason, tell Social Security so that you can get a corrected card. If you are working, also tell your employer. If you do not tell us when your name changes, it may: Delay your tax refund; and
Prevent your wages from being posted correctly to your Social Security record, which may lower the amount of your future Social Security benefits.

Further info from SSA
Documents for a name change: If you need to change your name on your Social Security card, you must show us a recently issued document as proof of your legal name change. Documents Social Security may accept to prove a legal name change include: Marriage document;
Divorce decree;
Certificate of Naturalization showing a new name; or
Court order for a name change.
If the document you provide as evidence of a legal name change does not give us enough information to identify you in our records or if you legally changed your name more than two years ago, you must provide Social Security with additional documentation.

Marriage, divorce or annulment: In addition to showing us a legal document proving your marriage, divorce or annulment, you must provide an identity document. That document must show your old name, as well as other identifying information or a recent photograph. (We can accept an expired document as evidence of your old name.)

As a result, I will kepp this on my list and plan to go to the SS office affter the first of the year. In the meantime, I will develop a task list so that I can do this easily and completely. Plus, I’ll be less likely to give up.

I haven’t changed my name since I got married. It wasn’t because I wanted to maintain my last name but more because I…forget it, I’m just making excuses. I don’t care for my husband’s (and son’s) last name and feel mine is easy to say and easy to spell, which is good in a work environment. I really don’t know where to start with the process and never took the time to figure it. Today, I realized that it means a lot to my husband and it will be symbolic for me as well. It will serve to symbolically seperate me from my relatives. I plan to still use my maiden name as my professional name and need to figure out how to go about this. I may wait until after the first of the year for tax filing purposes. I don’t know. Maybe I’m making more excuses.