Returning to your former name

What you need

To return to your birth name, your birth certificate together with your marriage certificate usually shows the full chain of your name and is accepted as proof. You are simply moving back to a name you can already evidence.

Two things worth knowing

• A divorce does not change your name back automatically. Many people assume it does. You choose when to revert, and you can do it before the divorce is even finalised.
• If you want a brand new name, rather than a former one, that is a different path. Choosing a name you have not held before is a formal change. See changing your name by deed poll.

The order that makes it painless

Start with your driver licence and Medicare so your photo ID carries your former name again. From there, banks and the rest follow easily. Your plan sorts this for you and writes each message, so you can move through it without the emotional weight of drafting fifty notes.