I know that someone will ask me one day how I went about legally changing my name after my marriage to Mark Fretts. I will want to help them, but unless I write it down I also know that I will not remember. So here is what I did and where I found the information.
1) First, Mark went down to the County Auditor's office to purchase 3 notarized copies of our marriage certificate. I believe we called ahead so they would be ready when we arrived, and they were about $5 per copy. So far each copy that I have sent out has come back, but the extra $10 was worth knowing I wouldn't have to make another trip to the county auditor.
2) I mailed in the following into the local Social Security Office:
-A notarized copy of our marriage certificate
-My passport with my maiden name
-The application that can be found here.
I did not want to make the trip into Spokane just to drop off this application, so I sent it through the mail. It was quite nerve-racking sending my passport through the mail...anyone could steal it! In retrospect the peace of mind knowing that my identity was not lost in the mail would have absolutely been worth the trip.
3) Once the new SSC was in my hands I headed down to the DOL. All I needed was the SSC, a notarized copy of our marriage certificate and $10. I changed my middle name in the process as well, so I had to make sure to point that out. Because of lessons from our wedding photographer I was able to score a 100% improvement on my new driver's license! (chin down, eyes up).
4) Now I could do just about everything else. I brought my marriage certificate, SSC and new and old driver's license to each place I needed to change my name. Some needed it all some, only the license. I stopped at my:
-Credit Union
-Bank
-Car Insurance
-Called my credit card (they just took my word for it)
-Facebook (it was encouraging to have a place I could change my name and see instant results)
-Everytime I saw my maiden name on a piece of mail I called that account and notified them of the change
5) Now time for the Passport
-got 4 copies of a passport photo from Costco for $5
(there are very specific requirements for the photo you use on your passport and it is best to get it taken professionally so you don't go through all of the trouble of editing your own photo only to have your entire application returned)
-filled out the application for a new passport
-stuffed a security envelope with:
*my old passport
*one passport photo
*the application
*a notarized copy of my marriage certificate
*Fees, however, if it is only a name change the fee is $0
-sent the package using a traceable delivery method
