Name Change

[yemmie]

Hey Guys,

 

My wife and I got married in December 2008 after her arrival here in America. I filed a joint tax return for us, no problem because I was able to get her SS card in plenty of time. She made no money in 2008 so there were no complications from that. When we married, we changed her last name to her middle name and gave her my last name. We will be changing her passport to her new name shortly, and we have already filed all of her AOS, EAD, and AP documents in her new married name.

 

She is very interested in playing the stock market in China. I have no problem with that. She has an existing bank account in China and she will be setting up an online trading account as well. Her bank account is in her name as it was before we married.

 

Question:What should we do to avoid any identity problems when we go to file taxes next year? Does she need to change her Chinese accounts to her new married name?

 

Thanks as always

[Randy W]

I don't think there are any potential problems with what you're doing

 

It's probably more trouble than it's worth to change her name on the accounts

[Sebastian]

A quick and easy way to get around this, and not change anything else in China or the USA - is to set up, at the county courthouse where you live, a /d/b/a attestation - 'Doing Business As' - and then send a copy of that in with the next years tax return.

 

Guo Lin Johnson, /d/b/a Lin Guo

 

as an example..

 

Normally these are set up for sole-proprietor types of small companies, but is also allowed for personal name usage.

Edited April 13, 2009 by Sebastian (see edit history)

[warpedbored]

You mentioned changing the name on her passport. It won't actually change her name. It is an entry in her passport that states something like "the name of the bearer of this passport is also spelled xxxxxxxx"