A few questions about multinational marriage, surnames, banking

[Anna GF]

It's definitely something to be concerned about so good you are looking into it now. When I got my Argentine citizenship (by descent) they put my maiden name on the DNI and passport. They said they only use the name that is on the birth certificate. I have heard that this is causing problems with international travel (i.e. governments keeping track of people) because a person can essentially have 2 identities. This doesn't really answer your question but might help you argue to a bank that Argentina honors a woman's maiden name.
If an Argentine woman takes her husband's name upon marriage (in Argentina), I assume she would then have to change her DNI and passport, right? I would think the government officials are familiar with that process.
It is fairly easy to change your name in the US. In my state (NM), it's a short petition you can fill out by yourself, a small filing fee, and notice in the newspaper. But then a lot of hassle changing all the SS documents, etc. I would hope she doesn't have to do that. Let me know what happens as I am in the same boat as your wife!

 

[BA Liaison]

Hi Utopos — your situation is more common than it should be, especially where foreign marriage records, surname mismatch, and bank-side name matching all collide. To get a clearer picture, can you say which part is failing first in practice: 1. registering the U.S. marriage in Argentina, 2. getting a bank here to accept the name/document chain, or 3. confirming whether SSA / Banco Macro will accept deposits when the names differ? Also, if you’re comfortable sharing: - whether the marriage certificate is already translated in Argentina, - whether your wife already has a USD account here in her own name, and - whether the obstacle so far is a formal rejection or just branch-level confusion. That will make it easier to separate a paperwork problem from a bank-process problem.

 

[Utopos]

Hi Utopos — your situation is more common than it should be, especially where foreign marriage records, surname mismatch, and bank-side name matching all collide. To get a clearer picture, can you say which part is failing first in practice: 1. registering the U.S. marriage in Argentina, 2. getting a bank here to accept the name/document chain, or 3. confirming whether SSA / Banco Macro will accept deposits when the names differ? Also, if you’re comfortable sharing: - whether the marriage certificate is already translated in Argentina, - whether your wife already has a USD account here in her own name, and - whether the obstacle so far is a formal rejection or just branch-level confusion. That will make it easier to separate a paperwork problem from a bank-process problem.

Hola. For now there have not been any real issues - it is the future I'm trying to manage. How can I make things, particularly financial, as easy and simple as possible for my wife were I not here (queuing the 3rd movement of Chopin's piano sonata No.2 in B-flat...)?

I'm in the early stages of tackling this, so nothing yet has failed in practice. Registro Civil is "looking into" registering our U.S. marriage, our apostiled marriage certificate not yet translated, local Banco Macro employee scratching head while looking for mate, wife has no dollar account here.

It seems the obstacle thus far is my confusion: How to proceed?

Tomorrow I will email the Federal Benefits Unit at the embassy, asking about changing Social Security deposits to Banco Macro AND what name to use (hopefully they will reply). We will also inquire at Banco Macro's central office about all this. My wife will always still need to make transfers from Schwab (whether wires or Western Union, etc) but not as urgently. I will start doing those in her name from our joint account, rather than mine as I have always done. Oops, nope! SHE will have to do it as I assist initially, so she's comfortably familiar with the procedures (sorry sweetie...)

We will also talk to a lawyer about getting our house into her name.

Muchas thanks!

 

[Lanick]

We got the same issue. Mine in the UK but maiden name in Argentina. An AR lawyer friend of hers said; “you can only have name. If it changes you should report it”.

 

[Utopos]

I just heard back from the Federal Benefits Unit at the U.S. embassy, concerning Social Security deposits into a Banco Macro dollar account.

They said YES, we may both have our monthly SS payments redirected to a Banco Macro dollar account (they were not sure if Macro would open separate or joint accounts, not a problem for us).

They attached instructions (in Spanish) for doing this, which they recommended printing, and bringing it with us to any Banco Macro location. It lists the documents we'll need (copy of DNI, gas or electric bill etc., proof of Social Security), along with a few codes needed by the bank when opening the account(s). So... gather documents, print instructions for the bank, and visit any location.

Also, the FBU said that my wife's different surname in the U.S. and Argentina should present NO problems with Banco Macro. Social Security will continue to use her married U.S. surname.

It does seem that there are a few fees for this:
-Cargo por Mantenimiento del paquete $4 U.S.+ IV
-Cargo del Servicio $10 U.S.+ IVA para cada pago acreditado

The change in deposit location will take place in 60 days, and deposits into Banco Macro will occur on the 4th of the month.

At least for us, it seems like a good idea... a small price to pay for my wife to have her income readily available without need to international transfers.

Anyone see a down side, beyond well... um...banks and Argentina, which always make me nervous?