Recurring question on name change after marriage

Each day brings several inquiries from local residents on a variety of registry-related topics. Two questions I was asked yesterday arise frequently. Since neither of them has a clear yes or no answer, I decided to share my views with the caveat that the registry does not provide legal advice, we just make an effort to state our general understanding of the law and procedure.

The first question involved a couple who had recently purchased a home, financed that purchase with a mortgage and then married shortly afterwards. The question was, "how to we add the wife's new last name to the deed?" This question hints at the common public misperception that we maintain some sort of master ownership list that we update as circumstances change. Of course that's not the way the system works. Once a document such as a deed is recorded, that document cannot be changed or altered. If something changes, a new document must be recorded that can be linked to the existing one and change its legal significance.

As I understand it, there is no urgent need to reflect the spouse's new name in the registry's records. She owned the property under her old name and she continues to own it in the same way, only her name has changed. Many people leave the record as is until a new document needs to be recorded for other reasons (a homestead or a new mortgage, for instance). On the new document, the spouse's name should appear "Mary Married-Name, formerly known as Mary Maiden-Name."

Two other considerations do arise in this set of facts. Now that the co-owners are married, they would be eligible to hold the property as tenants by the entirety which, in addition to providing a right of survivorship which may already exist under a joint tenancy, also provides some protection to the spouse against creditors of the other spouse. To create a tenancy in common would require a new deed by which the couple would transfer the property from themselves to themselves as tenants by the entirely. The other issue is the existing mortgage and any prohibitions that may have established on changing the ownership of the property without the consent of the mortgage company.

Because what would appear to be such a simple question does carry with it significant legal pros and cons which is why we always advise folks to consult with a lawyer who can become acquainted with all the particulars of that case.