Elwell v. Elwell

As part of her divorce libel, the libelant requested the right to resume her former name. The divorce was uncontested. The judgment order made no reference to this prayer, and the libelant appealed on that ground.

15 V.S.A. § 557 provides:

Upon granting a divorce to a woman, unless good cause is shown to the contrary, the court may allow her to resume her maiden name or the name of a former husband.

This statute, by its terms, requires favorable consideration of a prayer for name resumption by a woman who obtains a divorce, unless good cause is shown to the contrary. The record in this case…