Name Change

I was born in New York City and was married in Virginia. I have been divorced for 10 years and have been using my married name. I would like to go back to my maiden name. Should I do that in New York or Virginia?

When my husband and I married in 1981, I had two small children. They assumed my husband's last name, however were not adopted by my husband, and never did a legal name change. One of my sons is now in the process of applying for a passport, and obtaining his birth certificate. Of course his birth certificate will show his birth name, and we are wondering what effect that will have on the passport process, as he will apply in his current name, which he has used for the last 27 years. His driver's license and social security number is in my married surname, the name he has used all these years, not his birth name.

My husband & I have two deeds held in joint tenancy. In 1998, I had my name legally changed in my county probate court. My name on the deeds themselves, however, was not changed. A local attorney here said I would not need to do new deeds. Rather, that I might want to 'get a certified copy of the Certificate of Name Change and record it in the Registry of Deeds to put the world on notice of the legal name change'. If I don't actually obtain new deeds, will this complicate things for our alternate beneficiaries when my husband & I have both died?

I would like to change my last name. I am married with one minor child whose name would remain the same. I would like to know what affect this would have on me legally.

My husband's ex-wife remarried and legally changed her name to her new husbands. They seperated and she started using my husband's last name again on the legal documents she was signing. The ex-wife is a closing agent for a title company and renewed her notary stamp with my husband's (her ex-husbands)last name. Looking at notary laws and her application she had to use her 'legal name' to fill it out which she did not. She was still married, and had not asked the court to grant her a name change, or changed any of her identification back to our last name. In December we bought her share of a business that she started with my husband where she signed all of the legal documents as her then married name and showed identification proving who she was. Again this did not match our name. I am a real estate broker and some realtors in our office have used her as their closing agent. On the deeds she notarizes the signature of the buyer with our last name, witnesses in her married name, and fills out the area where is says: This document is prepared by: using her maiden name. She recently got divorced and asked the court restore her maiden name, not my husband's name. She is still using her notary stamp in our married name and signing documents using three different names. Is this legal? Can any of these deeds be found Fraudulent? Can a person use different names on documents that require 'legal name use'?