My fiance plans to file a diy divorce against his ex. He wants her to drop his name and use her maiden name. How would he put that in the papers and what could the extra costs be for that request? Can she object and contest doing so? We live in Durham if that makes any difference.
Not a lawyer
Pretty sure you cannot force someone to assume their maiden name during the divorce. It’s pretty easy, however, for her to assume her maiden name if she so chooses. The question is…how do you make her want to (i.e. financial buy out for $XXXX dollars described in your separation agreement).
Good luck.
Not a lawyer
One more thought. If your fiancé and his ex have children together, I would guess there’s a very low probability that she will want to change her name for the sake of her children not having a different last name from her.
They had one kid before they were married and while the kid goes by my fiance’s last name that’s not her last name on her birth cert or soc sec card. Legally kid has mom’s maiden name. I don’t see why ex would refuse to change it, the marriage lasted under 3 years and was a very unhappy one for both of them, my fiance wants her to change it so I will take his name.
Not a lawyer, but there is no way to force her to change her name, when they married I believe his last name became hers when the marriage certificate was filed. If she has bad feelings for him, perhaps he could negotiate something with her, a name change is fairly simple.
One party cannot request the court change the name of the other party. A judge can award the name change pursuant to the divorce if the defendant answers the complaint and requests that her name be changed in addition to the divorce being granted.
“Not a lawyer”
Just curious…what difference does it make if she chooses to keep her married name? It doesn’t affect your ability to assume his last name when you marry.
And I’m not a lawyer but I’m pretty sure you can’t force someone to change their name. I chose to assume my maiden name after my divorce but I had to specifically state that in the complaint.
Not a lawyer
I’d guess it’s an “honor” thing. Kind of like, “She doesn’t deserve to have my last name” type argument.
I felt the same way but realized that I couldn’t force her to assume her maiden name, so I didn’t bother trying.