Edit my last name as the business owner

[AliciaBlossomPT]

I need to edit my last name after divorce as the owner of my business as its not my legal name anymore.  How do I do this without needing to create a new account?  

[Donnie-M]

@AliciaBlossomPT This is a conundrum question if you have researched any of the other threads.  Couple questions before we see if there is a work around... was the account in your married name and verified using your ss#?  If so there isn't much you can do as square can't/won't change names on accounts for many reasons, but security and reporting are the main ones.

If you have a divorce decree changing your name, you might be able to petition or get an order directing a name change.  Not sure how this would be seen by square as a legal court order would be a whole different animal and go through their legal department.

If you set this up as an LLC or Corp or entity, then you could do a transfer of ownership and transfer ownership from one entity to another.  But this won't work if its the same SS# for verification or you just changed your name.  IT is complicated, but you can always set up a 2nd location under the operating name you want and slowly kill off the old name as far as appearing on anything.  I know having to still see the name can be an annoyance, but for tax and accounting purposes, as long as you have your divorce decree there is no problem there.

[AliciaBlossomPT]

Yes its due to a divorce and I have a divorce decree, new ss# card in my maiden name, new license in my maiden name, mortgage documents, utility bills, so proving my identity should be possible. 

I understand the financial institution issue but at the same time, interesting that this issue mainly only effects women business owners since we are the ones that change our name.  Showing legal documents was enough to change my bank accounts so I would hope its enough for Square as well.  Please let me know how to proceed with the legal department.  This has to be an issue that can be taken care of.  What if a woman is divorcing an abuser and seeing her married name is extremely triggering for her?  

[Laurie_]

Hi there @AliciaBlossomPT,

Thanks for taking the time to reach out to us to raise your query. 

Currently, you're unable to use the account transfer tool to update your legal name. Additionally, if your name has changed in the last year, the identity verification might not be successful.

I would strongly advise in this case to reach out directly to our Support Team for further guidance here in terms of how best to proceed.

If you'd like to speak with our Support Team by phone, you can give us a call at 1-855-700-6000 between 6 am - 6 pm Pacific Time Monday - Friday. You can also get in touch with our Messaging and Email Support Teams here: squ.re/contactsqsupport