Portia finds herself caught in a classic Catch 22 regulatory web as she tries to use her new married last name. She had to travel this week under her maiden name on their delayed honeymoon because the County Clerk hadn't gotten around to producing the certified copy of her marriage license so she could apply for a new driver's license under that name, and open a joint checking account with DK, and ask the Department of State for a passport in her new name. Of course even if they had given it to her in the 2 weeks they promised her, it's unlikely all those other agencies would have sent her the new documents she needs.
It really has bummed her out to be traveling as Miss X and Mr. Y on her honeymoon.
Thinking back to the Dark Ages when I got married, the name game was so much simpler. As I recall the only agency that demanded a certified copy of my marriage license in order to change my name was the State Bar of Texas (motto: where bureaucracy rules). The Department of Public Safety and the banks just took my word for the fact that I was changing my name as the result of marriage--no questions asked.
Now with all of our concern for identifying everybody a dozen times over, your name on your driver's license or passport MUST be the same as the one on your plane ticket or hotel reservation or you're toast--or detained for questioning.
Those were the days! Just another way life has become more complicated than it used to be.
2 comments:
Actually...back in those same Dark Ages, those of us who did not change our names were routinely harrassed by the same bureaucrats for the opposite reason -- even though you might have thought that they would see the ease in managing just one name consistently throughout one's life. Of course, consistency and ease are not hallmarks of bureaucracy -- what was I thinking?!
Darned if you do and darned if you don't!
I think women who keep their maiden names after marriage still face some hassles, even though the practice is more accepted.
Portia plans to use both her maiden and married last names, but not hyphenate them, in her professional life.
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