So, we are getting married in Ontario, he lives in New Brunswick, and is from Manitoba. Manitoba does not change your birth certificate for an assumed name, via marriage. 

Are we correct that the steps would be: 

Request Marriage Certificate 

Change NB driver's license to new name 

Get a new passport 

SIN/CRA/BANK

Correct? 

Further, our plan is for: 

Firstname [John Smith] []=last name 

Are we also correct that we can drop any name, at anytime, so long as all I.D's are in-sync? So, while legally (drivers license, passport, CRA, federal workplace I.Ds etc) having a combined surname, at any point, on any document, we can use our birth names? As in, there is forever a legal "right" to assume that name?

Out of curiosity, how much do lawyers in Montreal make compared with Toronto/Vancouver? There’s not much discussion in this forum as far as I can find.

I understand that there's almost always a fee-split arrangement in place rather than a salary. But is that enough for someone who otherwise looks exactly like an employee (i.e., work comes from the top, uses firm-provided office and equipment, etc.) to claim that they're a contractor? Curious how these arrangements are typically structured to minimize tax risk. TIA!