Your marriage was definitely not what you’d dreamed about – not even close. Your divorce is, unfortunately, proving equally unpleasant.
Given that your marriage is basically nothing but bad memories, it’s understandable that you want to move on as quickly as possible and forget all about it. For many people (women, in particular), however, that’s not always that easy. When you get married, if you took your spouse’s last name, you may have a difficult choice ahead of you.
What kind of things should you consider?
Some people ask the court to restore them to their pre-marital name as part of their Dissolution of Marriage document. They may believe that absolutely nothing is worth sharing a name with their ex-spouse.
Some people, however, do decide to keep their spouse’s last name even after the marriage is over. There is a multitude of potential reasons for this, including the following:
- They have built a social or professional identity under their married name, and they do not want to try to rebuild their connections or brand identity.
- They are a public figure who is well-known by their married name, and they don’t want to lose the reach they already have.
- They have children with their spouse, and they don’t want to have a different last name than their children.
- They simply like their married name better than their prior name, and they don’t want to change it.
- They don’t want to deal with the hassle of changing their driver’s license, passport and other documents or deal with all the other notifications that would be required
Ultimately, there’s no one right answer that works for everyone. You can consider your options as you proceed with your divorce and make the decision before it’s over.