Changing your domicile? Know your prerequisites! Published March 5, 2010 By 1st Lt Daniel Lee 87th Air Base Wing Staff Judge Advocate Office JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- Your domicile is your fixed, established, permanent or ordinary dwelling place. You may be temporarily absent from your domicile (due to military orders), but you must intend to make the place your permanent "home" for it to qualify as a domicile. A residence is a temporary locale, where you are now physically present. A person may have two or more residences, as in the city and the country, but only one domicile. Most military personnel have a residence in a state different from their domicile state. Often times, military members consider whether or not to change their domicile for one reason or another and are confused about the benefits there may be in so doing. It is certainly possible to change one's domicile as long as three prerequisites are met. In order to change your domicile, you MUST: (1) Intend to abandon your previous domicile (2) Intend to establish a new domicile (3) Be physically present in the new domicile Simply stated, one establishes domicile by living at a location with the intent to remain there indefinitely. Without having accomplished these three acts, you remain a domiciliary of your old state for all purposes, including state income taxes. The concept of domicile usually rears its head when a state sues for back taxes. While you might claim that Alaska or some other state as your domicile, a court of law in your old state might disagree with you. Why? Money! The state will refer to the three-part test above looking most strongly at the issue of intent. What you say you intend and what you really intend may be two entirely different matters. A court of law will determine your true intent by examining the facts and circumstances of your residence in your new domicile. Do you act like you intend to remain here indefinitely, or do you act like someone who is here only because of military orders? Presence in a state because of military orders does not make you a domiciliary of that state. Some of the items which will satisfy a court's examination are: payment of taxes and fees in your new state, registration of your personal property in your new state, voting, transacting business, banking, owning real estate, and so forth. There is no magic formula. The court will scrutinize all the facts. What are the consequences of changing one's domicile? You now live by the laws of your new state - all laws, not merely the tax regulations. Educate yourself on state laws before you decide to make it your domicile. 87th Air Base Wing, Judge Advocate Staff Office can be of great service to you. For more information, or to make an appointment, call 754-2010. This article is for informational purposes and is not intended to constitute legal advice or counsel.