Can you share your boyfriend's last name on a least even if your are not married?

-I have a friend that has been living with his girlfriend for the past 12 years. On their lease it has his first and last name and his girl friend's first name, but she is using his last name. Can a girlfriend or boyfriend share the name of their significant other on a legal document even if they are not married? What are, if any, repercussions doing this, if there is a break in the lease or eviction or using the last name on any other legal documents if you are not legally married? Could there be a problem in the future?Technically, that is not her legal name (unless she has changed it through the legal process) so it makes that lease a little bit iffy. I would tell her that it is probably best to use her own name on all legal documents since doing otherwise could be construed as falsifying information on a legal document.



In the case of the lease, the landlord probably won't care since both parties are jointly responsible for the lease. If they can't go after her, they'll just go after him for the total damages.
I guess it depends on if your state has any common law marriage laws. My state used to have a law that said if the woman took the guy's last name, even without being legally married, that they were then common law married. Not using you're legal name on legal documents can cause all kinds of problems. Especially if they split on bad terms.
She should not be doing this because she's clearly not his wife in any way, shape or form legally.

THIS IS WHAT THE LAW CALLS FRAUD IN EVERY STATE, and yes, there can be repercussions if something were to occur affecting any legal document and this very clear lie.



Grace
She should check the laws in her state. There's a chance they have a common law marriage at this point.



Chances are her SSN is on that document and the last name is a non-issue.
assumed identity = defrauding someone





turn yourself in to Johnny Law





"I have a friend" = LAMEST bullshit line on YA
I'm guessing this isn't a good idea, she could have a legal problem if things don't work out with them.
Ah, the "pretend" family.

I always love these. When young, they rebel against the rules and traditions of an oppressive society.

But as time moves on they (usually she) starts to soften and want some of those trappings.



If she wants his name tell her to marry the guy.

Yes, this will come back to haunt her as she has now committed fraud.

On that lease was the paragraph where she declared everything she wrote to be legal and truthful.

Not, "oh this is how I feel today," truthful, but DMV truthful.



If her name is not legally her boyfriend's, she had committed fraud.

In this case I doubt the landlord will do anything, but if they are not good tenants, and the place is owned by a corporation, she could be in hot water.



Besides, she did not want to fall into the traditional trap anyway. Why isn't she proudly writing her own name? After all, she is just a girlfriend. It is not like they are married or anything.