Correcting name on legal documents
originally posted: 11/22/2006 reposted: 2/18/2011 This post has not been recently reviewed or revised by the author and may be out of date. If you notice an error or are in doubt, please send a new question by email or ask for an update. Email asktony@tonynovak.com.
Q: My middle initial is "C" but when I got married I stated using the first letter of my maiden name "K" as the middle initial. Now I have documents and investment accounts with each form of the name. Which one should I use?
A: While this was a common practice for women over the past decades, it will eventually cause you headaches when conducting important transactions. You may not even be able to renew your driver's license or take an overseas flight if one of your IDs shows a conflicting middle initial. All of your identifications (bank cards, passport, insurance card, and insurance policies and financial accounts should have EXACTLY the same name. Not even a single letter should vary. They should match exactly the name on your birth certificate unless you have had a legal name change, in which case you should have official proof of the name change. It is worth your time now to contact each issued of identifying documents to make sure that your name is exactly correct.
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