Legal Question in Family Law in Massachusetts
ex-wife still using my last name
I have been divorced for over 2 years now. During the proceedings, my ex-wife asked to go back to her maiden name. To this day, she is still using my last name. Is there any way I can get her to stop using my name and use her maiden name?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: ex-wife still using my last name
No. Anyone can change their name to whatever they want it to be as long as it is not for an illegal purpose or to deceive or elude creditors. There is a story of a soldier who changed his last name to "PropertyOf" so that his uniform name tapes would read "PropertyOf U.S. Army"... with that in mind, NOTHING is too ridiculus. For humor, check out the social security administration's releases on popular names and unusual names... there are even kids named "Adidas" and "LemonJello."
Re: ex-wife still using my last name
Mr. Weicker's answer is dead on.
The only wisdom I can add is that you should just let it drop, especially with her. If she knows it annoys you, she may be keeping the name mainly to annoy you. This reasoning is silly, but not at all illegal. Why validate her reasoning? Why waste your time and emotional energy over a name?
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