Kim tells Consumerist that while she lives in the United States, she got married in the Cayman Islands. That sounds very beautiful and romantic and all, but she wondered: would she have problems with the handwritten marriage certificate when she returned home and needed to change her last name? Nope. No private or government institutions had any trouble with the handwritten certificate…except Scottrade. Apparently, online brokerages are stricter about name changes than the U.S. State Department. Who knew?

Kim writes:

I just wanted to share a little story of an issue that I’m having with Scottrade. I’ve been a customer with Scottrade for over 10 years now, and have never had an issue before.

Last year, I got married in the Cayman Islands. I received a Marriage Certificate that was a form that was handwritten and signed by the minister that performed the ceremony. I was actually a little nervous about it at first, but over the next year, I changed my name with the Social Security Administration, the State Department of Motor Vehicles, and the US State Department (for my passport). I also changed my name with credit cards, banks, my employer, etc. No one has given me any trouble except Scottrade.

Scottrade’s legal department requires that a seal be visible on the copy of the marriage license that they are provided. My marriage license does not have a seal, whether on the copy or the original. I spoke with the local branch, and they passed the information to the legal department (including letting them know that I had already changed my name in most other places with no problems). The legal department wouldn’t budge, and will not allow me to change my name on my account.

I spoke with another customer service rep, and they told me that it is possible to open another Scottrade account in the new name (which, of course, won’t be a problem because I have all of the proper ID to prove that my new name is legal). However, I’d rather not do this since I would potentially lose all of my account history information, which is handy to have for tax purposes later on.

Do you have any other suggestions of what I can do to get Scottrade to recognize the marriage license that no one else seems to have a problem with?

If they won’t accept her name change–with or without a wedding–as legal when her Social Security card, driver’s license, and passport have all been changed, then what should she do? Suggestions from other destination wedding brides who changed their names are welcome.

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