The Name Game

Guest Blogger: Stella Katsipoutis, Bridal Guide Intern

With my last name, Katsipoutis, I can’t help but long for the day when I finally get to take on my future hubby’s surname—hopefully it’s less than eleven letters long! What I’m not looking forward to, however, is all the commotion that comes along with having your name officially changed: digging through stacks of forms and making tedious trips to the Social Security Administration. Lucky for me—and for all you brides who also dread that looming mountain of paperwork—I just heard about a great tool that makes the transition from “Miss” to “Mrs.” (or “Ms.”) fast, easy and hassle-free.

MissNowMrs.com is an online service that simplifies the name change process. All of your needs—whether you’d like to hyphenate, take your maiden name as your new middle name, or make a traditional name change—are taken care of in just a few simple steps. After guiding you through a series of questions, the site uses the answers you provide to automatically fill in all of your current state and U.S. government name change forms (including Social Security, IRS8822, U.S. Passport, United States Postal Service, and State Driver’s License). I like how you don’t have to hunt down the most current forms—they’re automatically provided for you! Notification letters for banks, credit cards, mortgage providers, utilities and insurance companies are prepared for you, too, based on your preferences.

Once everything’s printed, you’re given step-by-step instructions for filing and mailing your forms. Only a 30-minute process, MissNowMrs.com is said to save you an average of 13 hours of research and online waiting time. And phone, email, and live online help are all there to answer any questions you may have. Worried about your personal info being kept private? The site is protected by HackerSafe and VeriSign. You’re also given the option to skip any questions that you feel uncomfortable answering (like giving your Social Security Number) and write them in on your printed forms. With a service cost of $29.95 and available gift cards, it even makes a great bridal shower or wedding gift.

Now, thanks to MissNowMrs.com, I can thoroughly enjoy my fantasy of having a five-letter last name. A girl can dream…

Posted by Stella at 4:05 p.m.