Change my last name

Although not a common practice except for married or divorced people, changing names is not at all uncommon. There are several reasons for changing names, not only last names, and this may range from change in marital status, simply not liking the given birth name, and many more. In the United States, the laws vary from one state to another, however, it may be said that the processes are almost the same. Below you will see important things you need to know if you want to find out how to change your name.

First off, you need to know that you are not allowed to change your name if you have the intent to commit a crime like fraud. You are allowed to change any of your names like first, middle, and last. You need to understand that when you change any of your names, you should not have the intent to commit fraud by violating a trademark, avoiding bankruptcy, or running away from a responsibility. Obscene words are not allowed as names.

The first step on how to change your name is to contact local officials or the local government. There may be several paper works that you need to accomplish and there are a few documents you need to prepare. Next, you need to fill out the forms given to you by the government office. Some of these may be petitions, order of granting name change, legal forms, affidavit, and many more.  In some states like Maryland, name change may be allowed by usage. This mean as long as you sue the name you want, no documentations are necessary, but this does not negate the fact that some businesses will not honor your preferred name without legal back-up.

The few last steps on how to change your name are to have these forms notarized, submitted to the proper government office, and then published in a paper.