GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
1993 SESSION

CHAPTER 565
HOUSE BILL 1133

AN ACT TO PERMIT MEN WHO ARE DIVORCED OR WIDOWED TO RESUME USE OF THE SURNAME THEY USED BEFORE MARRIAGE.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1.  G.S. 50-12 reads as rewritten:
"§ 50-12.  Resumption of maiden or premarriage surname.
(a)	Any woman whose marriage is dissolved by a decree of absolute divorce may, upon application to the clerk of court of the county in which she resides setting forth her intention to do so, change her name to any of the following:
(1)	Her maiden name; or
(2)	The surname of a prior deceased husband; or
(3)	The surname of a prior living husband if she has children who have that husband's surname.
(a1)	A man whose marriage is dissolved by decree of absolute divorce may, upon application to the clerk of court of the county in which he resides setting forth his intention to do so, change the surname he took upon marriage to his premarriage surname.
(b)	The application shall be addressed to the clerk of the court of the county in which such divorced person resides, and shall set forth the full name of the former spouse of the applicant, the name of the county and state in which the divorce was granted, and the term or session of court at which such divorce was granted, and shall be signed by the woman in her full maiden name, or by the man in his full premarriage surname.. The clerks of court of the several counties of the State shall record and index such applications in such manner as shall be required by the Administrative Office of the Courts.
(c)	If an applicant, since the divorce, has adopted one of the surnames listed in subsection (a) or (a1) of this section, the applicant's use and adoption of that name is validated.
(d)	In the complaint, or counterclaim for divorce filed by any person in this State, the person may petition the court to adopt any surname as provided by this section, and the court is authorized to incorporate in the divorce decree an order authorizing the person to adopt that surname."
Sec. 2.  G.S. 101-8 reads as rewritten:
"§ 101-8.  Resumption of name by widow or widower.
A person at any time after the person is widowed may, upon application to the clerk of court of the county in which the person resides setting forth the person's intention to do so, resume the use of her maiden name or the name of a prior deceased husband or of a previously divorced husband in the case of a widow, or his premarriage surname in the case of a widower. The application shall set forth the full name of the last spouse of the applicant, shall include a copy of the spouse's death certificate, and shall be signed by the applicant in the applicant's full name. The clerks of court of the several counties of this State shall record and index such applications in the manner required by the Administrative Office of the Courts."
Sec. 3.  This act becomes effective October 1, 1994.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 15th day of June, 1994.

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Dennis A. Wicker
President of the Senate

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Daniel Blue, Jr.
Speaker of the House of Representatives