Do I need to Legally change my name?

[isthereaway]

I was born Ms A to parents: Mr&Mrs A. Aged 16 I discover (from Birth Cert) I'm in fact Ms B. My mother had an affair & signed the Cert Mrs B, along with Mr B (who died shortly after. She didn't tell me nor did she allow Mr A to adopt me.
I change my name to Ms A-B. Aged 30, I marry & become Mrs C (at this point I also change my Christian name. Born in England, lived in Scotland so went over border to lawyer to do it properly).

I am now Divorced. I'd like to change my name to reflect that. Can I simply use (any of the combinations of) previous legal names or do I need to change it formally ? (still Scotland)

My understanding is you can call yourself what you like in Scotland as long as there is no criminal reason for changing. I have a least two friends who changed their names completely just because they wanted to (I’m in Scotland) - didn’t bother with Deed poll. You obvs can do that route if you want to too.

@Purplecatshopaholic I never knew that! I went to a lawyer before but its 25 years ago so I don't remember all details... I guess I'd need to change passport, bank a/c, benefits etc too? All a bit of a faff if I can just call myself something else ? (but, eg if I was booking a Premier in room , could I book as Miss A but pay as Ms B?)
I'm maybe not 'getting' this.

If you want to change the name, just write up a deed poll yourself, give it to bank, passport etc to change the name, no need for a lawyer, I did it recently, it honestly isn't that much of a faff changing stuff around. Or if you don't want to go through that but want to just use it casually, booking in as one thing and paying as another type thing that's fine.

I changed my name when I got divorced. Still have some stuff in my married name. Not got round to changing it. Never had a problem.

You can put whatever name you like on a Premier Inn booking form, Minnie Mouse if you like.

Also, payment does not have to be made by the person staying in the room, so the card can have any name on it. All you have to do is make sure that they know the cardholder name and don’t assume it is the same as the name on the booking. Most online card payment platforms have a part where you either say that the name on the card is the same as on the booking, or you have space to enter a different name.

To illustrate this, I have a bank account in my married name but my passport is in my maiden name. When I book flights the name has to be the same as the one on my passport. However I frequently pay for them using the card that has my married name on it.

@HotCrossBunplease
@Luckymoo
@Purplecatahopaholic

Thanks. PI was an eg but yes, I suppose I was wondering more what if I had Passport, Bank account, Property deeds, Driving licence type things in different names ? Surely a problem?
I wouldn't want to be accused of doing it for dodgy reasons ! (I think the 'no right to use that name' thing runs deep)

Easy to do by self deed poll. Hubby and I both added to our family name upon marriage.
Your title is whatever you want too btw; our marriage certificate is addressed as Mr and Ms D-B 😀

My passport shows my maiden name and my driving licence my married name. I have bank accounts in both names. Never been an issue.

Don't get ripped off OP if you do decide to change it with a piece of paper. DH used this free service 10 years ago to change to my last name. Has had no issues getting it accepted everywhere to change everything. Even used it to get a resident visa for one of the countries with the most bureaucratic visa process: https://freedeedpoll.org.uk/

Thank you for that link. I had assumed a solicitor would need to sign it but apparently not 😮

@MiraculousLadybug Thank you, that's really helpful. I wonder if that's valid under the Scottish legal system? I'll try to find out.

Yes it is. I’m in Scotland and just did own deed poll too.

@Luckymoo oh, brilliant! THANK YOU so much! xx

I used this years ago.

The most difficult part is the occasional squabble with Mumsnetters who try to argue it’s incorrect and should have been done ‘properly’ with a solicitor.

There's information on the NRS site about name changes in various circumstances in Scotland www.nrscotland.gov.uk/registration/recording-change-of-forename-and-surname-in-scotland

No! This includes a £40 fee which is completely unnecessary!

The correct (free) link has literally been posted above.

🤦‍♀️

Just putting this here after another incorrect link has been posted.

CORRECT LINK, THIS IS FREE.

I'm in England but did my own deed poll and used that to change my passport. Then used the deed poll and passport to change everything else. I reverted to my maiden name but wanted to do it before divorce was finalised because it was taking so long.

A deed poll is simply a statement to say you relinquish your old name and will now be known as new name. It doesn't need to be witnessed by a solicitor.

As you were born in England, you don't need to register your change of name in Scotland.

Just seen the link posted above - that was what I used! If you read the info on the website, it was helpfully created by someone who was fed up with the misinformation around needing to pay.

Most organisations will accept the free deed poll, true. However if OP wants an updated birth certificate at any point it will need to be registered with NRS. If that's not something she needs then yes would totally go for the free option 😊

No need for 🤦‍♀️ I was only trying to help with the government link 🙄

You can leave all the documentation like your passport etc in your present name and call yourself whatever you wish.
I use a married name for work and all my tax, passport, NI, NHS. Insurance is in single name, DBS has both names. Using both Miss and Mrs to suit.

I don’t think having a mix of names is a problem. I’m divorced and have bank accounts in my married name and in my maiden name. Passport and driving licence match. For ages I was married name with HMRC but with no ID in that name. Mix of names on bills, No one seemed to care tbh. I once took a copy of marriage certificate to a car rental place as it said on website bank card must be in name of person renting car. The bloke laughed and said no one had ever bothered before. He just checked 1st name/ initials matched and the card was registered to same postcode as licence.