Husbands changing their last names
Offbeat grooms
By
on January 12, 2007
3
When researching Offbeat Bride, without a doubt the hottest topic among my labs rats was women changing their last names. One increasingly popular method of dealing with this feminist minefield is both the bride and the groom assuming a new last name. Seems to solve all the problems, right?
Well, turns out that in many states it's significantly harder for husbands to change their last names. As in, hundreds of dollars harder. And now, one brave offbeat groom has teamed up with The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California (ACLU/SC) to sue the state over a law that makes it easy-peasy for women to assume their husbands' last names — but a pain in the ass for grooms to change their last names. Check it out:
As Michael Buday saw it, the road to matrimonial bliss was a nontraditional one that included taking on his wife's last name, reports the Feminist Daily News Wire. Problem is, according to a lawsuit filed on his behalf by the American Civil Liberties Union, in California men are required to pay upward of $300, file a court petition and advertise their name change for a month in the local newspaper; a woman, in contrast, can change her name through marriage by simply paying a $50 to $80 filing fee. Buday also says he was ridiculed when he tried to legally take his wife's last name at the Department of Motor Vehicles. Read more.
About Ariel Meadow Stallings
Author of Offbeat Bride: Creative Alternatives for Independent Brides, Ariel acts as the publisher of all the Offbeat Empire websites. She lives, loves, and dorks out hard in Seattle, WA.
Karen said
Just so everyone knows, the law in CA has been changed now. It is just as easy for a man to take his wife's last name at marriage as the other way around.
Heather said
It's not just offbeat. There are many practical reasons a man might want to take the last name of his wife. Such as, if she is in a career that requires a license and he doesn't, it makes much more sense for him to change his last name than for her to change hers and then pay the price for changing all the licenses and such. My minister kept her last name and her husband changed his.