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Legal Canada - Legal Ontario - Your marital name in Ontario March 25, 2004 Your
marital name in Ontario So, you’ve just gotten married in Ontario and you’re wondering how this affects your name. Well, the answer is it doesn’t have to affect it at all, but it can if you want it to! Assuming you live in Ontario (this doesn’t work for U.S. citizens or others who have gotten married in Ontario, but don’t live here), you have two choices if one or both of you wish to alter your surnames (last names) to reflect your same-sex marriage:
To
assume your spouse’s surname (or to combine your The nice thing about the assumption method of changing your name is that it’s a name change sanctioned by custom and common law, not one created by statute. This means that you can continue to use your birth name for some purposes and your married name for others, and you can change your name back to your original name on your driver’s licence, etc. at any time. Of course, it only makes sense to assume your spouse’s name if you plan to be known by that name most, if not all, of the time, but it is nice to know that gay and lesbian couples have that flexibility. If you change your name using the "Change of Name Act", your previous name is gone, and to reclaim it you would need to apply to change your name all over again. | ||||||||||
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