By SheelaR

Should a woman change her name back to her maiden name after a divorce? I’ve struggled with this for a while now. A marriage made in haste is defining my identify, and I don’t like it.  I will say this, there is a lot of comfort in using my maiden name for business and social media, because there is no such thing as privacy anymore. People can be very intrusive. My married name affords me the kind of privacy that helps me sleep at night, but every time I sign my married name, it feels unatural. I’m not ‘her’ anymore. As I move forward in my life…I’m realizing that I need a new beginning.

If I remarry, the old-fashion girl in me wants to take her new husbands last name, but the emerging woman in me wants to enjoy an identify that is uniquly her own. I want to enjoy being the woman that I never had the opportunity to be as Sheelagh O’Brien. Besides… Sheelagh O’Brien flows well and has a nice ring to it 🙂 I’m an only child and it would pay homage to my dad, since he’ll never ever have a son (I hope).

I’ve been polling my friends and family about the idea of a name change and ironically, the votes are split in half, generationally. No surprise there. I guess I’m on my own with this one. I’ve been doing some research on the subject, and I’m still not clear.  Below is some of the material I’ve engaged on the matter… When I come to a decision…I’ll update ya 🙂

Happy reading!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/26/last-name-after-divorce_n_4164839.html

http://info.legalzoom.com/can-divorced-woman-keep-her-husbands-last-name-21429.html

http://family.findlaw.com/marriage/changing-your-name-after-marriage.html

http://www.divorce360.com/divorce-articles/after-divorce/name-change/keep-or-change-a-last-name.aspx?artid=592