Using my throwaway here so that I'm not giving out too much info through my main account. Long block of text ahead!I got married in Michigan at the end of January and planned on hyphenating my last name since I'm the last person with that surname in my family. I also wanted to take advantage of this to tweak my first and middle name. Let's say my parents gave me the following name, as an example:First name: Donna Maureen Middle name: JoyPaperwork has always been a headache because every system has their own setup. My social security card has my proper name, but my driver's license, for example, says "Donna Maureen-Joy Lastname" because when I first got my license, the system wouldn't accept such a long name. Even though I put "Donna Maureen Joy Lastname" on my marriage license application, I found out that the license was processed in the county system as if Donna was my first name only and Maureen Joy was my middle nameI signed my marriage certificate based on my plans to hyphenate my last name and drop my current middle name. So my name would become:First name: Donna Middle name: Maureen Surname: Maidenname-SpousenameAs I understand it, in Michigan this requires an extensive legal process that involves paying several hundred dollars for an application, publication in the legal section of the newspaper, fingerprinting at a local police station, and a court appearance to ensure that I'm not changing my name to commit fraud. I called my local (Oakland County) vital records office because the application wasn't clear whether I also had to order an entirely new birth certificate and have the original sealed. I was told (over web chat) that I could just get an amendment to my birth certificate for now, but that it could cause issues with my taxes and getting a new social security card and driver's license in the future, and that I might have to do the name change process all over again. The county office did, however, give me the phone number to the state vital records office in Lansing to confirm.This got my husband all worked up, and he is now demanding to be on the phone when I call the state vitals office. His argument is that the marriage certificate alone should be enough to change my name, and that it's the state's fault that my first name is only listed as "Donna" on several key pieces of paperwork. He says that enough women have changed their name through marriage that this shouldn't be an issue now, and that I can just make "Maureen" my middle name and drop the "Joy" without having to go through the entire paperwork process. I assume this is incorrect and I have no choice but to go through the entire court order because this explicitly involves changing my first and middle name, but my husband isn't having it and says we need to escalate if need be.So here are my questions for you, especially if you got married in Michigan: 1) If you only changed your last name [and/or added your maiden name as a middle name] when you got married, did you have to get a court order, etc. first, or were you just able to take your marriage certificate right to the Secretary of State and Social Security Administration to get new documents? 2) Did you have to have your original birth certificate sealed, or were you just able to get your original one amended? How did that work - will the county just issue you an amended one, or do you have to mail your original in? 3) If you have two first names and a middle name, how did you handle the name change process when you got married?Thank you so much in advance!TL;DR: I want to simplify my complicated first/middle name setup, hyphenate my last name, and ideally have my birth certificate amended rather than sealed. Looking for advice from Michigan brides in particular on how to go about this. via /r/weddingplanning https://ift.tt/2OvtgSC
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