Are you looking to find out the key legal things to do after getting married to ensure you don’t miss something? I did the exact same thing when I got married. Below you will find 5 major things that you will want to take care of after your wedding.
Getting married is such an exciting event, but if you’re anything like me, you are thinking to yourself… What are the legal things to do after getting married? You don’t want to forget anything and you want some direction.
Having just gotten married in the past year, I can totally relate, and I’m giving you the essential legal things you need to do now that you are married.
You are going to find better clarity surrounding the steps to take to make sure you are set up well moving forward in your marriage. The legal steps after getting married don’t have to be intimidating.
**Disclaimer: None of the following is legal advice. I am not a lawyer and do not claim to give any legal nor financial advice.
This post is all about legal things to do after getting married to help every newlywed couple get off on the right foot.
Best Legal Things to do After Getting Married
1. Name Change
The way that this is done will depend on couple preference. Which partner will change last name? Will you hyphenate? Will you keep your maiden name? Yeah, it’s not super cut and dry.
This is a very important process. Changing your name is not just a one and done thing. Think for a minute about all of the places your name is recorded… dang! That’s a lot.
You will first likely want to change your name in your government record. If you are in the US, this likely will look like changing your name with the social security office. When I went to change my license, I asked if I could put my new name on it, and they REQUIRED my social security name be changed first. Find out what your state requires.
Next, you’ll want to work down the line. You can begin changing your driver’s license and passport. Keep in mind any trips you’ve planned where tickets have your maiden name. You won’t want to jump the gun too early.
Next, you’ll want to change your name with your place of work, your bank accounts, and your social media accounts.
This process takes time. Don’t feel like it all has to be done at once. It took me several months to even begin the process. But a very important legal thing to do after getting married is to change your name.
2. Marriage Certificate/License
This was one I had NO IDEA about when I got married, but it’s super important. After you get married, most institutions won’t recognize you as married unless you supply a marriage certificate. Some instances will allow a license certified copy as well.
That’s pretty dang important! Especially when you are trying to do all of the things I listed in the name change category.
So how do you get a hold of these documents? Well, after your marriage, you will sign the marriage license. Your wedding officiant will be in charge of mailing it then to the county office indicated. After about a week or two, your license will be processed.
Once this has all taken place, you will be able to fill out a form and pay a small fee to request your official marriage document copies! As long as you supply proper identification, you should be good to go. Again, I will not guarantee anything. I’m NOT a lawyer nor a government employee.
But if all goes well, you’ll be good to go to supply the required marriage certificate or license certified copy wherever necessary, yay!
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3. Bank Accounts
Finances, oh how I love them. You are now in a marital relationship with someone, and that means some big decisions get to be made, like how to do bank accounts!
You don’t have to do anything if you choose not to. Couples are all over the board in terms of how they take care of family finances.
My husband and I decided to combine our bank accounts so that we could have an easier time budgeting. We both had steady income, and it made the most sense for us.
If you decide to combine bank accounts, this is a very good thing to take some time to do after your wedding.
You’ll want to decide which financial institution (bank) to go with. Once doing so, you’ll want to open a joint bank account. This will allow for you to both have access to the finances.
Make sure that any credit cards or bank lenders know that your spouse is also now authorized in account discussions if necessary. You don’t want an emergency to come up and for one party to be excluded.
4. Insurance
Wow, this is such an important one! And it can also be easy to overlook.
When I got married, I had 30 days to determine how I wanted to include my husband on my health insurance plan. After those 30 days, I had to wait until the next benefits enrollment period to make any changes.
After you get married, you will want to make any necessary changes to your insurance to be sure your spouse is covered. This includes health, auto, life insurance, and more.
I’ll also roll into this the importance of changing beneficiaries as necessary. Your life insurance policies and even investment/retirement accounts will need to be addressed if you decide to do this.
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5. Taxes
Ok, you got this. Remember when you signed on to your job that you filled out a document saying you were filing taxes as a single independent person? Well guess what? That’s no longer the case!
I didn’t know this, but the government taxes you as a married person for the entire year of your marriage. Even if you got married in December, you’ll be taxed that entire year prior as a married person. Again, I AM NOT a CPA. This is not financial advice.
You’ll want to check with your job to see how to proceed with any deductions you may want to move forward with, and how to change how you are filed with the corporation.
Check out this article by H&R block to find out more information about what changes in terms of taxes once you are married. I found it super helpful after my wedding.
This post was all about the most important legal things to do after getting married to help couples navigate their next steps.
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