i have been divorced for 10 years and want to go back to my maiden name. as it's on my birth certificate, and is still me, can i just resume using my maiden name as i am legally divorced, so in that case, i am now who i was before the marriage.?
Since it is the name on your birth certificate (most likely) you do not need to legally change anything. You just need to contact any business or utility that has your last name as your married name and make them aware of the change if you would not like to get mail or other documents with the old name. I live in MD (maybe the laws are different here) and I changed back to my maiden name (which is on my birth certificate) after being divorced for 20 years. Since I didn't choose to change back when I got the divorce, I had to file a petition for change of name with the county court. It took 3 months and cost about $125.00. Then I was able to change my name on my driver's license, social security card and bank account, etc.