Financial Checklist for the Newly Married
Financial Checklist for the Newly Married
Relationships & Money
Congratulations! You just got married! Maybe you even tied the knot without spending a fortune (now that is truly a feat). Regardless, you managed to get married in the middle of a global pandemic, so you deserve major kudos.
Now what?
As a newly-christened household, there are financial steps you and your partner need to take to make sure you’re legally and financially starting off on the right foot.
Newlywed Legal and Financial Considerations
Changing Your Name
Ahh, the romantic considerations of… a name change.
In Western culture, a woman has traditionally taken the last name of her partner. In Latin America, Asia, and many other parts of the world, women retain their maiden names for their entire lives. Nowadays, things have changed a bit–your partner may take your last name, you may both keep your last names, or you may hyphenate. Whatever you decide, you’ll need to make your new names legal as one of the first tasks of married life. If you’re changing your name, you won’t be able to set up a new joint bank account, get a passport, or put your name on a joint house title without updating certain legal documents.
After getting married, your first step to changing your name is getting a copy (or two) of your marriage license.
The officiant who performed your ceremony should have given you a copy when you got married. But if not, you can request a copy from the Vital Records Office in the county where you got married.
Then, you can apply online or in person to update your Social Security card. Once your Social Security card is updated, you’ll need to make a trip to the good ‘ole DMV and get your license changed.
Eventually, you’ll also need a new passport (remember those?). For a name change on your passport, fill out a name change application here and apply by mail.
Others who will need to Know
Additional places or documents you may need to update or notify of your change in name and marital status include:
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