We have a ongoing battle in our bank as far as required documentation in regards to a name change. Do we need to require a copy of the court documents (ie. Marriage Certificate, Divorce Decree, etc.)? Do we also need to get new Signature Cards signed for all accounts that owner is a signer on wheather Owner or Authorized Signer?

As far as I am concerned...yes and yes.

Ditto and ditto.

We also require either a copy of the new SS card or a copy of the application showing that it was applied for. There have been instances where we have just gotten the new DL and marriage license or divorce decree, and then found out from the IRS that the customer never changed their name with SSA.

I was glad to find this post as I had the same question. My real question is WHY do I need to see the marriage license or divorce decree? Is this a requirement anywhere or primarily a bank policy? We also have a different internal opinions as to the need to see the "proof" that the name was changed for these two reasons and it would be helpful to understand the "why" behind it (other than - "we always have".)

Thanks!!

mac

Identity theft.

...& evasion of third party claims; e.g. levies, & TIN matching.