Hi,
Both my Partner and I totally dispise our last names due to massive issues with our families, and since we are going to be married later down the line, we were discussing coming up with our own last name to start a new family line(so to say).
My only worries are, how difficult is it updating everything for credit scores, land titles etc?
Has anyone here gone through this and if so, would you mind sharing your experience please?
10 comments
It’s no harder than doing so for marriage.
You simply send proof of your new legal name to the affected parties.
It’s “easy” but fairly tedious, expect many months of back and forth with everyone until it’s all sorted. But it’s just admin, once you have driving licence and passport done the rest are relatively simple.
It’s fairly easy to be honest. Make a deed poll online (don’t pay for it) and get 2 people to counter sign it. Print off as many copies as you need in colour and send them off to the relevant parties. Banks, utilities, passport, driver’s license etc. some may even let you do it all online now
I changed mine via deed poll, for the same reason as you. It was easy enough, though a bit of an administrative faff. I’d advise making multiple “originals” of your deed poll, a list of everywhere important you need to update, and then work your way through it.
Easiest for me was getting bills changed, like my utilities and council tax bill, they just needed to see the deed poll, some had online forms and others I emailed.Once I had utility bills in new name and address, I could then update my driver’s license, then my passport. I then updated HMRC and my employer. I updated my GP which carries through to NHS records. Lastly I did my bank accounts because all of them needed you to go in branch. I swapped over other accounts as and when I next ordered something from them.
I got rid of my surname and it wasn’t difficult at all to update.
It wasn’t difficult, more just tedious trying to remember all the places it needed to be updated. You think you got them all but then a letter or an email arrives with your old name… But other than inconvenience and actually having a new name to use, it had zero impact on anything.
It’s ridiculously easy to change your name. Look up Statutory Declarations. It’s basically a legally binding letter you get witnessed by a solicitor that says “I’m changing my name, I promise not to use the old one”. You take that to the bank, you take it the council and they update everything no questions asked. I changed my first name on the day I got married officially (legally made it the shortened version I’ve been known by my whole life) so I still gave them my marriage certificate to give them some explanation of why my surname changed as well.
Only annoying one is you can’t change your passport, so you either use the old one until it expires with the old name which is a hassle, or you pay to get one early.
Pro tip, get multiple copies of the declaration and your marriage certificate. Then you don’t care if they don’t return the original (some places refuse to)
Just print out a free deed poll. Did that to change my first and last name. Print multiple copies and have you and someone you know sign it. That’s it. Then send it off to whoever.
You don’t need a solicitor. And companies where you required to pay are a scam
I done this. Haven’t been questioned at all.
It was as tedious as changing information normally is, but changing my name my deed poll didn’t cause any further delays.
It’s easy just annoying when you have to apply for new documents like for my DBS I had to send of a load of paperwork because Iv been known by 4 surnames now 😣 you just have to make sure you have the original documents