If you changed your last name when you got married so you could share the same last name as your spouse, you have the legal right to change your name back to your previous last name if you get divorced. While there are several ways to go about doing this, the best way is to request a name change approval from the court during your divorce proceedings, and here are several things to understand about changing your last name in your divorce.

Fill out the name change form with your divorce papers

When you meet with a divorce attorney to file for divorce or to respond to the divorce your spouse filed, there will be a variety of documents you may need to fill out. One of these is a name change request form. While this is completely optional for spouses who are divorcing, it is a good idea to fill out if you really want to revert to a previous last name you had in the past. This form basically petitions the judge to review your request, and the judge will likely approve this request. If approved, it will make changing your last name so much easier.

You can choose any previous last name you had

When doing this, you should carefully think about which last name you would like if you have had more than one before now. If you were married multiple times, you probably have had several different last names, and you are free to choose any previous name you had. If you want an entirely new last name that you have never had before, this could get complicated.

Court approval gives you the legal right to do this but still requires work on your part

If you request this and get approval from the court, you should know that you will still have a lot of work to do. Getting this approved from the court will not automatically change your last name on your social security card and all your other accounts and documents. Instead, the approval from the court is just a court order granting you the right to do this. You will have to go through all your accounts and records and manually request name changes on all of these things.

If you know that you want to revert back to a previous last name you once had, the best thing to do is request the court to approve this while you are going through the divorce. By doing this, it will make this goal a lot easier for you. If you have questions about this, talk to a divorce attorney in your area.