After a divorce, many women want to step away completely from the marriage and start a new life. For some, this means changing their last name. Most women who do this go back to their maiden name. This is quite common, so Florida law has an allowance for this that makes the process fairly easy. So, if you want to change your last name after your divorce, it is important to make sure you know what to do because if you do not follow the rules, it can be a costly mistake.
To explain, the Orlando Sentinel reports that a typical legal change of name requires paying a set fee to the court. Plus, you have to file paperwork and open a legal case to get your name change. If you are getting divorced, though, you have a different option.
You may change your name during the course of your divorce. As long as your divorce case remains open, your name change is free. However, you may not be ready to make the decision to change your name at the time of your divorce. If that is the case, you may reopen your divorce case later for a smaller fee than it costs to do a name change outside of a divorce. This allows you to change your name and save a little money.
So, you have options if the name change you want to make relates to a divorce. In any other situation or if you do not want to reopen your divorce case, then you will have to pay to get it done. This information is for education and is not legal advice.