Georgia restores a maiden or prior name in the divorce decree itself, so long as you ask for it.
Ask in Your Pleadings
OCGA 19-5-16(a) provides that “[i]n all divorce actions, a party may pray in his or her pleadings for the restoration of a maiden or prior name,” and that when the divorce is granted, “the judgment or decree shall specify and restore to the party the name so prayed for in the pleadings.”
That is a “shall.” Once the request is in the pleadings, restoring the name is not something the judge weighs or denies, and it does not depend on which spouse filed or who won.
It Goes in the Decree
OCGA 19-5-12(a) says the final judgment “may restore a maiden or prior name, if requested,” and OCGA 19-5-12(b) supplies the clause the judge fills in: “The court restores to (Petitioner/Respondent) his/her prior or maiden name, to wit: ____.”
So the decree itself is the document you show the Social Security Administration, the Department of Driver Services, and your bank. There is no separate name change case, no filing fee for one, and no newspaper publication.
If the Decree Is Already Entered
For motions filed on or after May 1, 2024, OCGA 19-5-16(b) lets a former spouse “petition the court by motion ex parte to restore his or her legal surname to the given surname as shown on his or her birth certificate.” The motion may be filed at any time after the decree, even though the restoration was never mentioned in the original pleadings, and “[n]o publication in any legal organ shall be required.” The judge may sign the order in chambers with or without a hearing.
That route reaches the surname on your birth certificate. Going back to some other prior name after the divorce is a separate proceeding.
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This post is a quick overview of the law and is not intended as legal advice. Please feel free to contact our office for a consultation if you have questions about this or any other legal aspects regarding your case!