Changing your name can be a fresh start, but not everyone is ready to turn the page.

One widow thought dropping the hyphenation of her late husband’s last name would simplify her life, but her in-laws didn’t take the decision lightly.

You’ll want to read on for this one!

AITAH for changing my name and dropping the hyphen?

I lost my husband five years ago.

We had two sons before we married, and they have my maiden name — because we weren’t legally married at the time and our state has specific laws about naming children in and out of wedlock.

After marriage, I hyphenated my name, and we went on with our lives.

But she later found this type of last name brought certain complexities that made life harder.

If you don’t know, having a hyphenated name is a huge hassle.

I went to court on Tuesday and received a court order to drop the hyphen and revert solely to my maiden name (the name our sons have).

But not everyone was thrilled with this change.

I changed my name on social media, and my in-laws pretty much immediately blew up my phone asking why.

They are NOT happy with my decision, saying it’s disrespectful to my late husband’s memory to drop his name.

They said that if I was going to change any name, I should have changed the boys’ names.

The mother asked her children what they wanted, and they sided with her.

I actually asked the boys if that’s what they wanted to do before I filed to change my name, and they both said no because they are too old now and their dad never cared.

(He really didn’t. I asked him when we got married.)

She wants to respect their grief, but she also wants to live her life the way she sees fit.

I want to be sympathetic to my in-laws because I know how much I cling to every remaining memory of him as well.

But in another way, I feel like this was my decision to make, because this particular issue has been one of incredible inconvenience in our lives.

So, AITAH for changing my name and dropping the hyphen of my late husband’s name?

Who knew a last name could cause so much added drama?

What did Reddit make of all this?

Her in-laws are entitled to their own grieving, but they can’t continue to impose their will on her and her children’s lives.

Apparently you just have to “get” it and these in-laws obviously don’t.

Five years later, there’s no reason why these in-laws should be calling the shots.

These in-laws are going about things the wrong way.

Dropping the hyphen doesn’t mean dropping the love.

If you enjoyed that story, read this one about a mom who was forced to bring her three kids with her to apply for government benefits, but ended up getting the job of her dreams.