Fear the Crab

I think the amount of work that goes into planning a wedding compares only slightly more than the necessary steps to change one’s name after the event.  Maile decided to take my last name, thus beginning the research and paper trails to make it happen.

What makes it seem more complicated is that for some of the agencies, the marriage certificate is needed.  This legal piece of paper won’t arrive for another 120 days, leaving Maile in a sort of limbo, or purgatory.  Social security and a driver license are such examples.

At the same time, the driver license requires that any address change must take place within 30 days of that change.  I know this is more a general procedure for anyone that moves, but for Maile it seems like it would require special attention.  Does she put her maiden name or her married name in the correspondence?  If she puts her married name, will that cause confusion at the DMV as they process the address change?

Another complicated part that doesn’t have anything to do with name changes is the addition of Maile to my health plan.  There is so much paperwork involved with this “lifestyle” change such as beneficiaries, names, addresses, and above all the added premiums I’ll have to pay.

The only agency that seemed to smoothly complete Maile’s name change was American Express.  I highly suspect it has something to do with AMEX wanting to make it as easy as possible for their customers to keep spending money.