Taking back your maiden name: a new signature after divorce

A practical step, at your own pace

Changing a signature can be exciting or satisfying at other times. After a divorce, for many people it's just another item on the list, sometimes a slightly harder one, because the old name brings memories with it. Both feelings are fine. There's no need to make a big thing of it, and no need to rush.

• You don't have to be ready straight away. While your documents still show your married name, that name and signature belong on your papers. You'll need the new signature when your new documents are issued.
• Small steps work. A few minutes of practice a day is enough. If you don't feel like it one day, skip it.
• It's your decision. Whether you bring back your old form or design a new one is up to you. Neither is better than the other.

First, the name: what will your legal name be?

A signature follows the name, so it's worth settling which name you'll use after the divorce. That isn't the same for everyone.

• You keep your married name. Many people do, for example because of their children or their professional name. Then your signature doesn't need to change either.
• You return to your birth name. This is the most common case that calls for a new signature, and most of this article is about it.
• You choose another form. For example, a double-barrelled name becomes a single one. The signature follows the new name here too.

If you had a double-barrelled name and now drop one part, the change in your signature can be bigger than it seems: a long name with two capitals becomes a short one with one. Signing double surnames is covered in this article.

Two ways: your old form or a new one

When you return to your birth name, you can take your signature in one of two directions. Both can work well; the question is what feels right to you.

There's a third, in-between option: keep what was yours from your married signature, such as the slant, the shape of your first name and the ending, and only swap the surname for your birth name. That works well if you like the movement of your current signature and only the name is changing.

There's no right or wrong choice: the right signature is the one you're happy to write and that comes out the same the twentieth time.

Where to find your old signature

If you want to bring back your old form, you first need to find it. Many people no longer remember exactly how they signed years ago. A few places almost certainly have it.

• Copies of old documents. An expired passport or ID card, if you still have it, or a photocopy of one.
• Old contracts and papers. A tenancy agreement, an employment contract, an insurance policy or a bank form from before the marriage.
• School and university papers. Exam entries, enrolment forms, an old student card.
• Letters, cards, notebooks. If you wrote to someone by hand, or still have an old diary or notebook, your name may be there, often as a signature.

If you find several samples, lay them side by side. You'll see which was most typical, and which element came back in all of them: a capital, a join, an ending. Those are your starting points.

Don't copy it: update it

Your hand has changed over the years. Your pace is different, you may hold the pen differently, and your married signature probably developed something that's now yours. Copy the old signature letter by letter and it easily turns stiff and slow, because your hand no longer knows that movement exactly.

1. 1
   Write the old one slowly a few times. Look at the sample and write it five times. Notice what comes easily and what catches.
2. 2
   Write it quickly, without the sample. Now don't look. What comes out is the old form meeting your current hand.
3. 3
   Keep what appears in both. If the capital and the ending are similar in the old version and the quick one, keep them. Where they differ, go with the quick version.
4. 4
   Carry over what's yours from your married signature. If a nice join or a steady slant developed in recent years, you don't have to give it up. It belongs to your hand, not to the name.

If you'd rather have something completely new

For some people it's better if the signature recalls neither the years before marriage nor the married years. A new signature is then the cleanest solution. You don't need beautiful handwriting, only a few decisions.

• How much of your name? Full name, initial and surname, or a strong capital and a wave. The options are covered in how to create your own signature.
• Which style suits you now? A clean, upright form, a dynamic forward-leaning one, or an elegant, looped one. Styles are covered in this article.
• How legible should it be? It will be your specimen on your ID and at the bank, so a readable capital helps. See the legibility article.

If you'd like to see your birth name in a few different signatures, Calligra designs five options for your name and teaches the one you choose step by step. Try it with your name.

If your children keep a different surname

In many families the children keep the other parent's surname after a divorce. That means your name and theirs differ on school, medical and other forms. It's a common situation and causes no problems.

• Always sign your own name. On a consent form or school note, your signature belongs to your name, not your child's.
• Let the school or nursery know. If they knew you by your married name, tell them it has changed so they recognise your new signature.
• Keep proof handy if asked. Occasionally, an official matter may need you to show the relationship. Your child's birth certificate usually does that; ask the office concerned exactly what they need.

Where to bring in the new signature

Returning to your birth name is a name change just like the one after marriage, only in reverse. The same places come up: ID, bank, employer, providers. The order is similar too: first the document that proves the change, then your new ID, then everything else.

1. 1
   Your new ID. Your new signature is recorded here and becomes the specimen. Arrive with a practised form.
2. 2
   The bank. If the bank keeps a signature on file, ask whether you should give a new one.
3. 3
   Work. HR, payroll, your email address, and if you sign for the company, any signature on file.
4. 4
   Everywhere else. Utilities, insurance, subscriptions, online accounts, saved signature images.

The full, ordered list is in the name change checklist; just skip the pre-wedding part. How to roll out a new signature in general is covered in changing your signature.

Practising, calmly

A new signature settles when you practise regularly but briefly. It doesn't take long afternoons, and it's fine to miss a day.

1. 1
   Five minutes a day. One sheet, one pen, ten signatures in a column. That's enough.
2. 2
   Mind the first letter. Your hand usually slips back into the familiar name on the first movement. Start the capital deliberately and the rest follows.
3. 3
   Try real situations. Standing, in a small box, with a finger on a phone. That's how you'll sign day to day.
4. 4
   Look back after a week. Put the first day's sheet next to the seventh. If it's more even, you're on the right track.

If feelings come up while you practise, that's fine too. Stop and carry on tomorrow; the signature will wait. General practice methods are in this guide.

The in-between weeks

For a while your hand will sometimes start your married name. That's not a mistake, it's habit. A few things help these moments pass without fuss.

• Don't patch it. If you started the wrong name, ask for a fresh form, or strike it through neatly and sign again. A signature written over another looks worse than a clean restart.
• Follow the paper. As long as a document or ID still shows your married name, that name and signature belong there. The new signature starts with your new documents.
• The same everywhere. Once the new form is ready, use it everywhere and don't mix it with the old one.

Questions