Hi! My name is…

I forgot ALL that goes into changing a name… I changed my name when I got married, but I don’t remember all the things I had to do after I changed it; all the businesses I had to contact, registrations I had to change. It was a long time ago.

When I got divorced, I could have changed my name back to my maiden name, but then it would be different from my daughter’s last name and I thought it would cause confusion for us, so I kept my married name. Once she married, I thought about changing my name, but by then I was known by my married name everywhere and by everyone. And when I looked into changing my name at that time, I only saw bunches of forms that would need to be filled out and court dates that needed to be set and a lot of money that had to be paid to change it and… well, I was a bit overwhelmed, so I didn’t bother.

Fast forward to two years ago when I joined SAG-AFTRA and learned about professional names. I learned I could use a professional name different from my legal name. So I used my maiden name as my professional name. I wanted to honor my heritage and ancestors instead of a man who had long since departed and no longer influenced my life. But after a while I got tired of asking if they (they being the production companies and agencies and others who were involved in my professional life) wanted my legal name or professional name when filling out various and sundry forms. Some forms were clear, others were not.

So, a few weeks ago, I looked at changing my name again and started looking at the forms and process one more time. Things were looking pretty dismal again until I saw a small paragraph on a page that I thought I had accessed before, but I had not seen that paragraph apparently. It stated that I could change my name back to a former name at ANY time after a divorce and it required only one form to fill out. I found the fees required and they were MUCH less than what I had seen before. So, I filled out the form, followed the instructions and mailed everything in. Less than two weeks later, I received the certified copy that had been processed by the courts and I had my maiden name back!

I was dumbfounded! My daughter married in 2005 and I have spent all the years since wanting to change my name but daunted by what I thought was the process, only to find out that wasn’t the process at all. It was simple.

So, here I sit, new name in hand, and now I am daunted by the process of changing my name on so many forms, sites, businesses… But this time I will not be dissuaded. I will “Press On” and shout my name from the rooftops and parapets! Ok, so maybe I won’t do that, but I will tell you my new name.

Hi! My name is Elda Maria Carmona, and I’m so glad to be here and to meet you!

I know it’s been a while since I posted. A lot has happened in the last few years, some of which I’ll share. Maybe all will be shared, but give me time. I’m happy to be posting again. I hope to post more… I heard this song and want to share it as a re-introduction of sort to my posts.