Legally changing your name from Ms. to Mrs. may not be as joyful an affair as your wedding day, but it will make your life easier if you get it done quickly.

"It's just sound practice to go to all of your state agencies, federal institutions and banking institutions and have your name changed legally as soon as you get your marriage license," said Susan Sports, spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Driver Services.

The basics

For a newlywed, the first two steps in changing a name are getting a new Social Security card that shows the married name and going in person to Driver Services to get an updated license. Georgia law requires you to update your license within 60 days of changing your name by marriage.

Next, you should contact other institutions (the bank, your employer, credit card companies, etc.) that need to be informed of the change.

It might sound like a chore, but failure to follow the first two steps could lead to worse headaches.

For the last four years, Driver Services has been checking its records against those at the Social Security Administration. If a name on a license doesn't match a name on the Social Security card, the license will be canceled.

"We send a notification and give people 90 days to clear up [the discrepancy] with Social Security. Typically, records weren't matching because people got married and didn't change their name [on driver's licenses or Social Security cards]," Sports said.

Problems also occurred when people didn't get the notifications, which are sent by U.S. mail. Sports stressed the importance of keeping your information up to date with Driver Services.

"If a bride changes her name and moves, she needs to make sure we have her most current permanent address," she said.

Changing first names

More work is involved for a bride who also wants to change her first name.

Kathryn Harrell, a chemistry teacher at Chamblee High School, went through the process. The name on her birth certificate is Mary Kathryn Pirkle, but she goes by Kathryn, not Mary.

"I dropped my first name, since it was so confusing for anyone who met me for the first time, because they thought my name was Mary. I wanted to keep my maiden name too, so when I got married, I said I wanted to be Kathryn Pirkle Harrell instead of Mary Kathryn Harrell," she said.

After her wedding in Atlanta, Harrell moved to Virginia, where she updated her Social Security card and driver's license with no trouble. When she moved back to Atlanta, however, she couldn't get a license in her new name.

"I found out that, in Georgia, you have to present your birth certificate to get your license, and your first name has to match the first name on your birth certificate," Harrell said.

"Every document I had, except for my birth certificate, said my name was Kathryn. But all that mattered was the birth certificate, and they wouldn't issue me a license with Kathryn as my first name. It was very frustrating."

Eventually, Harrell had to go to court to get a legal name change.

"There was no other alternative. Even the judge was kind of shocked that this was a policy," she said.

Jennifer Ammons, legal counsel for Driver Services, confirmed that a bride who wishes to change her first name needs to go to court.

"Marriage has no impact upon first name or middle name. Georgia law only allows for the changing of a surname as a result of a marriage," Ammons said. "If a woman wishes to drop the first name listed on her birth certificate and make her middle name her first name, she would need to petition for a name change in the Superior Court of the county of her residence."

For more information, go to www.namechangelaw.com/states/ga/georgia.htm .

If your head's spinning with all the legalities and paperwork required for changing your name, don't panic. Here's a quick guide to help you through the process. (Compiled with information from www.thenest.com and the Georgia Department of Driver Services.)

• Get your marriage license. You'll need it (or a certified copy) to change your name.

• Get a new Social Security card. Go to www.socialsecurity.gov.

• Get a new driver's license. In Georgia, you must go to a Driver Services customer service center to get an updated, free replacement license within 60 days of your marriage. You'll need a certified copy of your marriage license. For more information, go to www.dds.ga.gov.

• Update your passport. Go to www.travel.state.gov/passport.

• Alert voter registration. Go to www.declareyourself.org. Click "register to vote" and check the box that says you're changing your name.

• Change the name on your bank account and order new checks.

• Change all credit cards, including ones from retail stores.

• Update any stocks, retirement accounts, mortgages, leases and other financial accounts.

• Order an annual credit report to ensure that all your old accounts are closed and that no one is opening accounts under your maiden name. Check out www.annualcreditreport.com.

• Change human resources paperwork at your office, get a new e-mail address and alert your contacts about the change.

• Update insurance cards and policies.

• Change your name on utility bills.

• Contact any organizations to which you belong about the change.