After a divorce, is it right for the ex wife to continue using your name?

[Mrs. Miller]

If you think about it, when your wife married you, she changed her name to start living her new life.
She changed her drivers license, credit/debit cards, membership cards for everywhere she's a member of, she changed her name with the taxation office, lawyers, etc. Legally, she changed her name to yours, and quite often it comes at an expense.

After you divorce, there are 3 reasons for not changing back: 1- Money. It can become expensive. She would need a divorce certificate, or to change her name via d-poll (i think it's called) Then she would have to go back to the banks, private health people, tax office, etc to change her name back. Again, at an expense.
2- If you have had kids in the time you have been married, she may want to keep the same name as her kids. Having said this though, many women change their name back, and change their kids names to her maiden name.
And finally, 3 - She changed her name to yours to start her new life. Once she is divorced, she doesn't resume her old life, but rather a life different to both. Her new, new life, i guess. You helped make her who she is. Shouldn't she be able to hold on to that?

I got married last year, but I have two kids with my husbands surname. When I got married, I changed my name, not to his name, but to theirs. Technically speaking, it's the same thing, but I separate it. They are my kids, and I believe we should share the same name.

Having said that, If my husband and I ever divorced, I would keep my husbands surname until my children are out of school. Then I would apply to change my name back to my maiden name. If I ever re-married, I would not change my name again. My name is who I am. Not who I'm with.

Now that I think about it, my kids are the only reason I changed my name in the first place. If I had married my husband before we had kids, there would be no doubt that I would have kept my maiden name, because as I said, it's who I am. I don't belong to my husband any more than he belongs to me.