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In some jurisdictions, the Judgment of Divorce will include a paragraph giving a wife the right to resume her maiden, or other, name. Government offices usually require that you show them a certified copy of the Judgment of Divorce before they'll issue documents in your maiden, or other, name. |
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For the most part, however, you can simply start using the name you now want to be called. For some, it's the maiden name. For others, it may be the name from a prior marriage. Many women who have children retain their ex-husband's family name until their children are out of school. Though divorce is very common now, they'd rather not flag their status. |
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Modifying the Divorce Decree |
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Modification of a divorce decree is complicated, and you will need your attorney's involvement. As with other issues, it is usually easier to get a decree modified if you have had a trial and a judge decided your case, than it is if you and your spouse settled. |
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When Bobby Kingston was four, his parents divorced and signed an agreement including all financial issues as they related to Bobby until he turned 21. Unfortunately, no mention was made of who would pay for college for Bobby. |
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When Bobby turned 17, his mother, Irene, tried to get Bobby's father, Joe, to help pay for college. Joe refused to pay. Irene hired an attorney, who made a motion asking the judge to order Joe to pay for college. The judge refused. She said Irene had had the chance to ask that college tuition be paid by Joe at the time she signed the agreement 13 years earlier. The judge protected the settlement agreement. |
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If, on the other hand, a judge had decided the case between Bobby's parents after a trial, Irene would have had a good chance of getting the tuition paid by Joe. Because the trial took place when Bobby was only four years old, the judge would probably not have made a decision on college tuition. After all, what if the child doesn't want to go to college? Because tuition might not have been considered by a judge when Bobby was four, Irene's request would seem reasonable to a judge 13 years later. |
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What if you notice a mistake in your divorce decree right after you get it? It will probably be easy to modify if the |
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