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Name changes?
I'm ultimately going to end up consulting our attorney on this one, but in the meantime I was wondering if anyone had dealt with this or something similar.
Situation: We have a NJ civil union. We're residents of PA. In NJ, you can take your partner's last name or hyphenate with a civil union. I'm finally getting around to trying to legally change my name, and I would rather try to do it without a court order. I've heard that the SSA will change your SS card with a civil union. Here's where I think I will have issues: obviously I can't just walk into the PA DMV with my NJ civil union certificate and change my name. But, I found that a name can be changed on your PA license without marriage, divorce, or a court order if you provide the following: a copy of your Social Security Card (or records), together with copies of documents from two other sources issued in the desired name such as: Tax Records, Selective Service Card, Voter Registration Card, Passport, any form of Photo I.D. issued by a governmental agency, or State issued Birth Certificate. Based on that, I should eventually have enough documentation to do it.
I guess my ultimate question is: If I run into some snags with changing my name on my PA license and all of my other documents have my new last name on them, are there any potential negative consequences with a mismatch? I will eventually have a photo ID (fed gov issued) with my new name on it - I can change that once I have my new SS card. We only plan to live in PA for another year before moving to NJ. Worst case I will just either wait until we move to NJ or pay the extra money and go through the hassle of getting the court order.
Re: Name changes?
I didnt need to show my marriage license to change my driver's license so I dont think you will have any issues there IF you are able to change social security. But SS might be your snag. Do you know if your local SS office will recognize the civil union from NJ?
I had a marriage license from MA before they recognized it in CT and my locial SS office would not let me change my name with the MA issued marriage license - I ended up getting "lucky" because 4 months later CT legalized same sex marriage and i just changed it then.
but to answer your question at hand, while its not ideal to not have matching documentation, you could probably manage it for a while with no ill effects. the biggest issue I could forsee is making purchases with a credit card if the name on the card doesnt match your id, but since you will be getting the fed photo id shortly, it'll be a temporary issue.
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Based on what I've found so far, sources seem to indicate that the SSA will change my SS card based on this.
The reason why I think I may run into issues in PA is because this is what it says about name changes on the DMV site: If your name changed by permission of court, attach a Certified Copy of the Court Order. If you desire to use a name other than your (1) birth name, (2) spouse's surname, or (3) a name given through a Court Order, you must provide a copy of your Social Security Card (or records), together with copies of documents from two other sources issued in the desired name such as: Tax Records, Selective Service Card, Voter Registration Card, Passport, any form of Photo I.D. issued by a governmental agency, or State issued Birth Certificate.
But changing it at SSA could be difficult also (because I don't know if I 100% believe the interpretations of that link I posted above), so that might be where I get stuck!
Thanks for answering! I thought that would likely be the case about any mismatches - not ideal, but not apocolyptic either.
in my reading of it, that language only addresses name changes with NJ civil union in NJ. however, since you are a resident of PA, you'll need to go to a SS office in your state (at least thats how it was in '08 when I was going through the process) and your local SS office will not be bound to that NJ law.
I absolutely hope that it works out for you, but you might find they wont accept it. No matter what, I'd start with them before you start transitioning other things to your married name.
and this is why we need federally recognized same sex marriage - because this is insanity.
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I figured I might try going to the SSA in NJ first and play the "even though I live in PA this one is closer to my house" argument. Not sure if it will work, but we'll see. Given that it's a federal agency, I don't see why it matters what state you're in when you visit their office - but if that's their policy, it's their policy - doesn't have to make sense.
I'm not getting my hopes up too much that this will work out. I just have an upcoming load of free time on my hands due to use or lose vacation days, so I figured I would take that time to try it and see if it works. If it is more hassle than it's worth, I will probably just keep using my changed name socially until we move to NJ next year.
Thanks again!
My local SSA office would not change with only a civil union certificate since it is a federal and not a state agency. I was told I needed the court to change my name first. Unfortunately it is not an easy process in NJ. If you find an office in NJ that will do it with only a civil union let me know.
~Kennedy
Here is the citation you want, which indicates that you can change your name based on a same-sex marriage or civil union, so long as it is valid where solemnized. This is true even if you are not a resident of a state that recognizes civil unions or same-sex marriages. That should take care of the Social Security Administration. I would recommend printing it out and taking it with you.
Once you have changed with SSA, then as a practical matter you can probably change with the motor vehicles people, assuming you've got the other documentation they want. And as you say, even if you can't, the problem will be taken care of when you move to NJ.
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2dbride, thanks so much for the link! I'm definitely printing it out and bringing it with me.
Kennedy, how long ago did you try to change it in NJ? I'll let you know if I have any luck doing it. I'm going to try to go on the 24th.