Detailed explanation of setting up Domicile in Florida

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Thanks for posting that link. Unfortunately the guy explains things like he is being paid by the word and I did not get very far trying to read it. I am sure there are people here who will find this info useful. I have been a full time Florida resident for 5 years and really loving it.
 
Yeah, that's a lengthy piece to wade through, even once you get to the "Step By Step" part.

BTW, you do not have to make a formal Declaration of Domicile, though it may help a bit if some other state raises doubts about your intentions at a later date. If you get Florida driver licenses and vehicle title/tags, Florida already considers you to be domiciled there.  It's the other states where you may have previous legal relationships that you need to be concerned about, and they don't much care what paperwork you filed in Florida.  The FL Declaration of Domicile has little legal standing elsewhere.
 
Yep, he goes into a lot of detail.  If folks don't want that detail then don't bother reading it. 

I would much rather have the detail than a short paragraph which doesn't cover all the details. 

I see so many replies in the several forums I read that give such incomplete answers.  Of course it does take more work to give a detailed response. 
 
About the "Declaration of Domicile", if I was coming from a high tax state, or a state which may not want to lose the tax income from me I would want to have the "Declaration of Domicile" to hand to that state to help establish I indeed intended to leave that state and establish a new domicile.

As I have read a number of times of the years, there is NO legal definition of Domicile in state law.  It comes down to intent.  If the state you are leaving can make a case that you truly did not intend to live, pretty much forever, in the new state they could come after you for past unpaid taxes.  The firmer you can establish your intent to set up domicile in a new state the better.  This is more for fulltimers who can't show they own real property, have utility bills, etc in the new state they call their domicile. 

 
About the "Declaration of Domicile", if I was coming from a high tax state, or a state which may not want to lose the tax income from me I would want to have the "Declaration of Domicile" to hand to that state to help establish I indeed intended to leave that state and establish a new domicile.
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Sure, but on tax issues it is most likely irrelevant where your claimed domicile is.  Each state determines its own rules for taxation and the legal concept of "domicile" rarely enters into it.  In other words, you can't escape taxes merely because you have domicile in another state.  The Florida Declaration of Domicile is not a Get Out of Jail Free card.


Florida created the Declaration of Domicile document because of its many "snowbirds" who had strong legal connections in two different states. The document is sort of a tie-breaker in that case, signifying intent.  It is mostly used when determining where to probate a will or what medical power-of-attorney has precedence.
Further, the Declaration document is meaningless if you don't actually follow through with actions commensurate with domicile in that state, e.g. getting licenses there.
 
South Dakota uses a two question Residency Affidavit ("is SD your state of residence; do you intend to return here after your being absent?")
 

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This topic quickly gets murky, both legally and in terms of common sense, but the SD Residency Affidavit is not at all the same as Florida's Declaration of Domicile.  The SD Affidavit is a means of compliance with the federal Real ID Act requirements for issuing driver licenses or other official state Id.  However, once you get SD driver license and title your vehicles there, you have taken a major step toward establishing SD as your legal domicile as well.  Unless you have substantial legal relationships elsewhere, having driver license, vehicle title and mail address in a given state is enough to qualify it as your "domicile" as well.

Conversely, Florida's Declaration form does NOT, in itself, qualify you as a Florida state resident for the purposes of issuing licenses in compliance with the Read ID Act.  I told you it is murky, right?  ???
 
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