The Name Game
We’ve looked at a lot of signed documents in the course of our research into now-shuttered, Greensboro-based Balanced Nutrition. As you may know, that business was run by Yolanda Hill, the wife of GOP gubernatorial nominee Mark Robinson.
We noticed something interesting. Throughout the period of Mark & Yolanda’s marriage, her name has gone through a number of changes. That can create a dilemma for people trying to figure out how to address the state’s current Second Lady, and possible future First Lady.
It’s nothing new to find married couples with different last names. Feminists are known for keeping their maiden names even after marital vows have been exchanged. Women who are celebrities or are well-known business owners prior to getting married often keep their maiden names as a way to avoid confusion among their fans / customers. Hillary Clinton started life off with Bill as “Hillary Rodham.” Many political observers in conservative Arkansas saw that move as a key to Bill’s loss in the state attorney general’s race. She changed to “Hillary Rodham-Clinton” and eventually to “Hillary Rodham Clinton.” (It’s unlikely that Yolanda is a political soul-sister to Hillary.)
But let’s take a look at the record:
- The Second Lady is currently registered with the state to vote as “Yolanda Dechelle Hill.”
- WRAL reported that Mark K. Robinson and “Yolanda Hill” were married May 5, 1990.
- A June 1996 deed granted to Mark K. Robinson and wife, “Yolanda D. Robinson” for a Guilford County home.
- In June 1996 Yolanda signed a deed of trust as “Yolanda D. Robinson.”
- In April 1998 Yolanda signed a deed of trust as “Yolanda D. Robinson.”
- Bankruptcy proceedings in 1998 and 1999 IDed our current Second Lady as “Yolanda Dechelle Hill.”
- In March 2003 the trustee issued a Bankruptcy Notice for the case of Mark K. Robinson and “Yolanda Dechelle Hill-Robinson.”
- On Feb. 24, 2004 a Notice of Foreclosure was filed by Norwest Mortgage assigned to Secretary of Veterans Affairs, for Mark K. Robinson and Yolanda D. Robinson for a home secured by first deed of trust.
- In March 2005 Donnie Brown sold “Yolanda Hill” property in Ramseur.
- In July 2012, “Yolanda D. Hill” incorporated Balanced Nutrition.
- In July 2017 “Yolanda D. Hill” and husband, Mark K. Robinson, deeded Randolph County property to Henry Jesus Paez.
- In September 2019, “Yolanda Hill” and Mark K. Robinson signed a deed of trust securing a loan from the State Employees Credit Union.
- In 2024, our state’s Second Lady is identified in a political ad for her husband as “Yolanda Robinson.”
- In 2024 correspondence, the NC Department of Health and Human Services IDs her as “Yolanda Hill.”
- In 2024, she signed a deed of trust for a line of credit on the couple’s Colfax home as “Yolanda Hill.”
- In several documents signed and filed between 2017 and 2024 with the IRS and NC DHHS, she is IDed as “Yolanda Hill.”
For the record, we were unable to locate any sort of documentation for a legal name change in Guilford County (the Robinsons’ current home) or in Randolph County (where Yolanda was born and raised).
D/T are prepared by attys and the debtors sign those documents as titled and prepared. She would not ‘get to choose’ how she signs.
She could not have signed a D/T w/out legal means and may have signed a name affidavit with the various names she is known as. This is common practice. The property may have been purchased or inherited when unmarried and thus maiden name or if prior marriage, that last name. There are numerous reasons for differing last names but a real estate atty doesn’t allow someone to choose how they sign a legal document, esp the D/T. It has to follow the property’s title.
It’s not the 1950’s any longer.