when can i ?

That probably is decided by who is at the window taking information changes that particular day. Some will require one, and some will require the other. Personally, if there is no hard pressed reason for doing it sooner, I'd wait for the new BC. Some places make a fuss if they know the child is adopted, so a lot of people tend to not want to show the adoption decree as proof of anything. (Yes, the current staff at the school and the doc's know, but the new staff person they hired yesterday doesn't.Neither do the ones they hire next year, but if you use the decree for proof of name change a copy of it might remain in the file. ) But if you have a need, like a need for the children to start camp next week using their new names, then you might not have the BC in time. Just weigh the pros and cons, and if doing it with just the decree is the way you want to go, then go try and see how many places will take it and how many will insist on waiting for the BC. Good luck, and congrats on finalizing!

thank you , i never thought of it with that perspctive , i am waiting for the bc . i guess i got a little to excited that we finally finalized and there names our now ours. We call them there new names and they say them so mite confuse the drs ect but we should only have a few weeks before we get the bc thank you agian

thank you , i never thought of it with that perspctive , i am waiting for the bc . i guess i got a little to excited that we finally finalized and there names our now ours. We call them there new names and they say them so mite confuse the drs ect but we should only have a few weeks before we get the bc thank you agian

Your family doctors, dentist, etc.. will want you to keep using the old name until the insurance paperwork goes through. Believe me it is a nightmare if the doctor changes the name, and the insurance company has not done so yet. I am still dealing with bills under the new name, that were sent prior to the insurance company making the change. You will probably have some overlap time in which both names will need to be used. My daughters records said " Birth Name" also known as "adoptive name." Now that all the changes have been done, they dropped the Birth Name" from her files and only show her new legal name. As far as the school system, they can change the names in the computer systems without a birth certificate using the adoption decree. However, if the children are in high school it is best to wait to change the name until you have the BC, because you do not want messed up transcripts and missing credits. I have found it is best to "informally" change names with the schools and doctors and let them know a legal change is coming, and then make all of the legal changes at one time. Starting with SS, then Insurance, then Doctors, then the school system.