name change process (or, when can we cash these checks??) :)

[ellaila]

Hi,

So we''re starting to get some checks made out to us as Mr. and Mrs. Joe Shmoe (not our real names

), and I''ve even gotten one written out just to me as Jane Shmoe -- but unfortunately, the bank says we can''t do anything with these until we actually ARE Mr. and Mrs. Joe and Jane Schmoe (sorry, I know that is poor etiquette to write it that way). I know I''ve written out plenty of wedding gift checks to couples that way as well -- I mean, it''s so cute to do that, who wouldn''t?! I never even thought about it being a problem with the banks until now!

We''ve got a week between the wedding (this Sunday!!!) and when we leave for the honeymoon (the following Sunday), so I was wondering if any of you newly name-changed brides could tell me about the process of getting your name changed and how long it takes? Is it a one-day trip to a Soc. Security office or DMV (I know in MA, it''s SS office first), and then it''s changed on the spot? Or is it something that comes in the mail to you later? It''d be great to actually be able to cash these checks and be able to have the cash for the honeymoon!!

Thanks!!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

*hangs head in shame* It has been a month and I STILL haven't changed me name

I am a terrible wife! I just signed my new last name anyway and the checks cashed. I think here in NC you go to the SS office FIRST then the DMV. You should call and make sure before you go down there though.

 

[Mara]

i didn't need a new DL or SS info with my name on it or anything to do it at my bank. i just took in my marriage certificate and told them i needed to change my name. they asked for a bunch of different verifications that i already had kind of thing to make sure i was me, and i just did it. it took 5 minutes. i had already ordered checks in my new name through another organization so i was all ready to go! i called before we went down there to ask about it and they said just come down with the marriage certificate.

the SS and DL and all that took longer, i had to make an appt a week or two out, and then it still took hours and here in CA our DL office and SS office have horrible connectivity to exchanging records so sometimes you have to come back weeks later to get the DL after the SS office has finally updated their records etc. and waiting in the SS office was horrible!! it was a 3 hour process and you basically just sit there and they keep calling you up to ask you things and fill out forms then you just go back and sit down for a while longer. i went to the SS office first then to DMV a few days/week later.

the bank was the easiest part, which was a little scary actually...hahha. i was like thats it??? they also said they had my maiden name on file/record so that if any checks came in with my old name, i could still cash them for a while kind of thing. thought that was cool.

 

[njc]

In VA you want to go to SS first (and it took half a day for me

). They change it right then and give you a peice of paper saying you have changed your name and your new SS card is in the mail. You can then take that paper to DMV and get your new license. So it can be done in one day.

We didn’t have any problems with this (we use Wachoivia), although the difference may be I deposited them vs. cashing them and we already had a joint account. I just wrote “for deposit only” and put it in our account which had my maiden name on it.

If I remember correctly from my bank teller days, as long as both signatures are on the check, with proper ID you should be okay. I would have your DH sign first, then you sign with your married name and then sign again with your maiden/still legal name. This should work for both cashing and depositing. I go by a nickname and people often write checks using that name vs. my legal name that is on the account. You always want to sign what is on the check and then what your account name is. It’s basically endorsing the check to yourself.

Tacori – don’t feel bad… it took me 4 months to change my name and a lot of things are still in my maiden name over a year later.

 

[curlygirl]

We didn''t have any problem at the bank. I didn''t change my name and some people made the checks out to Mr. and Mrs. Smith but I''m still Ms. Jones and the bank didn''t say a word about it! It is a little frightening that they didn''t even ask for a marriage license or anything and I live in NYC so it''s not like they know me at my local bank!

Sorry I don''t have any advice about the name changing thing--I just thought it was weird that my bank was so laid back!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Date: 9/13/2006 12:58:33 PM
Author: njc
Tacori – don’t feel bad… it took me 4 months to change my name and a lot of things are still in my maiden name over a year later.

Thanks njc

 

[ellaila]

Thanks, guys!

Yeah, on one hand, I''m kind of like, "What?!" about this being such a nuisance, but on the other hand, in this day and age with so much ID theft and fraud, I can understand why banks are being so strict about it. I mean, I go in there as one person and am trying to cash another person''s (in their eyes) check? I can see why they''d say no!

We tried talking to some people over the phone, but of course we got the corporate response. We may just go to the bank with our marriage license (obviously not filed yet since we''re not married, but it''s got all our info on it) and the checks and see if we can get someone nice to see that we''re obviously not committing any fraud here -- we just want our money!

 

[Dee*Jay]

ellaila - I'm surprised your bank wouldn't take them. My name (for the sake of this post

) is Margaret Smith (never changed my maiden name). Most people call me by my nickname Molly and my husband's last name is Jones. I frequently receive checks for birthdays and Christmas made out to Molly Jones (so both the first and last name are wrong). I don't sign the back of any check; I endorse them all "For Deposit Only to Account 1234567." I generally deposit through the ATM with a deposit slip enclosed, but I do sometimes go to the teller window. NEVER has one not gone through the system.

(Hmm... maybe I just use a lousy bank... ?)

 

[FireGoddess]

For most states, you have to go to the SS office first, before you can change your name at the DMV...since the DMV double checks with the SS office before issuing your license. My bank doesn't give a hoot about anything. As long as I can access my acct with my ATM card (even inside the branch) then they don't care about my name.

 

[JCJD]

Ugh, I remember this and it was no fun. Everyone''s given good advice so far, so all I''ll say is that this is the reason I now write wedding gift checks to either "Mr. Smith" or "Joe Smith OR Jane Smith"...

 

[saturn]

After the wedding, just take your marriage certificate to the bank and they will cash the checks for you.

You do have to go to the SS office and the DMV eventually, but banks don''t need any additional documents beyond just a marriage certificate.

 

[MelissaSue]

I seriously think your bank is being unreasonable. I deposited all of my wedding checks the day after the wedding.. into MY account with my MAIDEN name on it. No problem at all.. (except for the one guest whose check BOUNCED). We had all sorts of Mr and Mrs Jeffrey Married name checks.. and even one (I am actually a LITTLE bit suprised that this one was accepted) that said Mr and Mrs Jeffrey Marc. Marc is my husbands Middle name.. no semblance of my or hubbys last name.. seriously this happens ALL the time.. (People get married every day..).. Banks should really be used to it. And I have had friends who haven''t changed their name but still got checks with Mr and Mrs.. on them? Is your bank saying they won''t ever cash these checks? Its stupid.

Your name is officially changed when you go to the SS office.. but obviously you don''t have proof right away (I got some temporary receipt) but it took a few weeks for my new SS card and new DL to show up..

Maybe your bank will accept your marriage cert. as proof? That took probably less than a week to get to us.. But like i said.. we didn''t even need that..

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Date: 9/13/2006 2:41:06 PM
Author: JCJD
Ugh, I remember this and it was no fun. Everyone''s given good advice so far, so all I''ll say is that this is the reason I now write wedding gift checks to either ''Mr. Smith'' or ''Joe Smith OR Jane Smith''...

That''s why we just give cash

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 9/13/2006 11:24:48 AM
Author:ellaila

We''ve got a week between the wedding (this Sunday!!!) and when we leave for the honeymoon (the following Sunday), so I was wondering if any of you newly name-changed brides could tell me about the process of getting your name changed and how long it takes? Is it a one-day trip to a Soc. Security office or DMV (I know in MA, it''s SS office first), and then it''s changed on the spot? Or is it something that comes in the mail to you later? It''d be great to actually be able to cash these checks and be able to have the cash for the honeymoon!!

Thanks!!

Ella, I''m a Massachusetts resident, and my bank accepted a signed official copy of our marriage license.

I married in Massachusetts two years ago on a Sunday. The next day, Monday, I took the signed marriage license (signed by our officiant) to the town and asked them to process/file it. They processed it on the spot and gave me a notarized copy within 10 minutes. My bank accepted that.

In my case, we had our friend appointed by the state to marry us (one-day appointment), so I was in charge of filing the signed marriage license. If you are hiring an officiant, ask him/her in advance if he will can or will give you the marriage license at the completion of the ceremony to file yourself. I don''t know if they are allowed to, or if they have to remit it themselves.

Oh, and if you are in Mass......for S/S, take your signed notarized marriage license copy to Social Security office. They give you a form to then take to the Mass DMV. In my area, the offices are right next to each other on the same street. It took me less than an hour to do both.

 

[codex57]

Go to a different branch or come back another time. My wife never changed her name. We''re still deciding whether she should or not. Anyways, we had checks written out to Mr. and Mrs. Codex. She endorsed the back and I told them to deposit it into our joint account and they did. No muss, no fuss. We use Washington Mutual but the bank shouldn''t matter much.

 

[qtiekiki]

I don''t think the bank is being unreasonable. They just have to policies that the tellers follow to prevent bank losses. The most common reason why some of us didn''t have problems cashing or depositing the checks not made out to our legal name or name on the account record is that the teller didn''t check or pay attention to the name differences. Or if you kind of know the teller, they would sometimes let you get away with some things.

Usually two forms of ID and the marriage certificate is enough to verify that you are Mrs. Joe Schmoe if you are not a customer of the bank that you are cashing the checks with or if you are not on the account that you are depositing. But you might want to double check with the specific bank. Primary (1st form of) ID would be your DL, secondary ID could be a credit card.

 

[MelissaSue]

I thought of something else too.. After we were married, I changed my name with my employer well before I changed it with my bank (It took us two or three months to finally get to the bank) in the meantime I was getting my checks direct deposited with my married name into my account with my maiden name..This was for at least two months..

And.. why doesn''t your husband deposit the checks? maybe not the one with just your name.. but the rest he should be able to at least deposit with out you there..

Side note.. like someone else said.. I hardly ever deal with a bank teller.. just the ATM machine for deposits and mostly just use my debit card..Maybe since they go through the ATM deposits in bulk they are less strict with thier policies.. but i have never ever had a problem..

 

[bobacha]

I''m not married yet.. but I don''t understand why your bank wouldn''t let you cash your check. I thought ANY checks in our hands is cashable even though it''s not written to us.. and that''s why we have to be careful with big $$$ checks by endorsing it "For Deposit Only To Acc # XXXX", becaue if it falls to some unresponsible person''s hand, he could just endorse it to himself and cash it.

http://www.moneyinstructor.com/wsp/endorse.asp

PS. I''m not from US originally, and this is what''s I''ve told.

 

[Christa]

Honestly I don't think most banks look that closely at the name on the endorsement or other details, and yes, that's why you should be careful leaving checks where someone could get ahold of them. I endorse my husband's paychecks with my own name--I asked and the bank told me this was fine since we have a joint account.

I've been married a long time so my memory could be foggy, but all I remember doing was taking the marriage license to the DMV, and once I had a driver's license with the new name everything else was easy to switch.

 

[qtiekiki]

Date: 9/14/2006 7:21:40 AM
Author: bobacha
I''m not married yet.. but I don''t understand why your bank wouldn''t let you cash your check. I thought ANY checks in our hands is cashable even though it''s not written to us.. and that''s why we have to be careful with big $$$ checks by endorsing it ''For Deposit Only To Acc # XXXX'', becaue if it falls to some unresponsible person''s hand, he could just endorse it to himself and cash it.

http://www.moneyinstructor.com/wsp/endorse.asp

PS. I''m not from US originally, and this is what''s I''ve told.

I don''t know the policies of all the banks, but when I was a teller back in 2005, we were trained to only deposit a check with "For Deposit Only to Acct # XXXX" if the name on the check is the same as the name on the account.

And it''s true that you can endorse your husband''s check if you have a joint account.

I think the best thing to do is to just have the checks deposited to your or your husband''s account instead of cashing them at the issuing banks because usually the banks are less strict with deposit than a non-customer cashing a check. Or if you kind of know a teller, he/she will probably let you get away with more.