diff --git a/edivorce/apps/core/static/js/functions.js b/edivorce/apps/core/static/js/functions.js
index 462ff509..31f70cdc 100644
--- a/edivorce/apps/core/static/js/functions.js
+++ b/edivorce/apps/core/static/js/functions.js
@@ -289,7 +289,7 @@ var getValue = function(el, question){
         $('#other_names_fields').find("input[type=text]").each(function () {
             // as per request, alias type will always be also known as for now
             // aliasType = $(this).val() === '' ? '' : $(this).siblings(".alias-type").val();
-            value.push([aliasType, $(this).val()]);
+            value.push([aliasType, $(this).val().trim()]);
         });
         return JSON.stringify(value);
     }
diff --git a/edivorce/apps/core/utils/conditional_logic.py b/edivorce/apps/core/utils/conditional_logic.py
index fb62f142..5ce0265e 100644
--- a/edivorce/apps/core/utils/conditional_logic.py
+++ b/edivorce/apps/core/utils/conditional_logic.py
@@ -130,7 +130,10 @@ def determine_missing_extraordinary_expenses(questions_dict):
 
 
 def get_cleaned_response_value(response):
-    ignore_values = [None, '', '[]', '[["",""]]', '[["also known as",""]]']
+    if response is None:
+        return None
+    response = response.strip()
+    ignore_values = ['', '[]', '[["",""]]', '[["also known as",""]]']
     if response not in ignore_values:
         return response
     return None