Getting married- ? do I change my name

[Grog]

When my sister married and took her husband's last name all it took was sending a copy of the marriage certificate to Social Security, then sending the new information to everyone who needed it (banks, DMV, etc.).

When my brother changed his last name to his birth father's last name (he was adopted as an infant then became close to his birth father as an adult) he had to get a court order to do it and then go through the same routine of sending the information first to Social Security and then to everyone else.

I am fairly sure that it's related to marriage vs. "out-of-the-blue" (for lack of a better word) name change, not to being a woman versus a man.

If it was related to gender, then it would be a great lawsuit for discrimination waiting to happen!