Still More Domain Questions

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kmburns49

Member
Joined
Oct 7, 2015
Posts
6
I have searched and researched all over, but I still have some questions concerning permanent domain with regard to location, doctors and banking. I would appreciate any comments, advice, etc. anyone has. My wife and I will be going full time this summer, and we tentatively plan to establish our permanent domain in Florida, either through St. Brendan?s Isle or Escapees. We have children and grandchildren in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina, so Florida seems like the logical place (as opposed to Texas or South Dakota). We have been living in North Carolina for over 30 years.

So, here are my questions:

1. We would like to maintain our primary care and specialist physicians in North Carolina by scheduling annual or semi-annual visits with them. Could this be a liability with a Florida domain?
2. We really like our bank, a smaller North Carolina institution. It has full online banking services, including smartphone deposit capability, as well as nationwide no-fee ATM services through Allpoint. And the banking fees are very reasonable. Could keeping a North Carolina bank pose a Florida domain issue?
3. Would keeping North Carolina as our permanent domain be feasible? Personal income tax is high, and I don?t know of any mail services in North Carolina that would provide a permanent address.

Again, I?m sure these issues have already been covered somewhere, but I?d appreciate some fresh input.

Thanks, Kermit
 
To address your first point, I'm a primary care physician and have 8 or so full time RV patients. There are two potential issues that come to mind. The first is what type of insurance you have. If you can get a PPO type of insurance, or you have traditional Medicare, then insurance should not be  too much of an issue. The other is whether or not your current physicians are willing to work with you. I know my own patients well enough that I'm comfortable occasionally treating them for minor issues by phone or Skype as long as they maintain a reasonable presence in my practice. "Reasonable" depends on the complexity/severity of their medical issues.  You simply have to have a conversation with each of your docs to see if it will work for you.
 
First, "domicile" is the word you want to use when talking about changing your legal residence.  (Sorry for nitpicking.)  Second, when we left our previous home state we actually talked with state auditors to see what they said about it.  They had a list of about a dozen or so items that auditors look at when determining a person's legal domicile.  We notified all our medical providers that we were leaving, the voter's registration people, bank account holders, credit card providers, and the like.  In other words, everyone we had done business with. We kept financial instruments like IRAs and Keoghs at the same place which is permissible but we made sure they were using our new address.  I even closed some credit cards for places like department stores that I knew were not doing business in our new home state.  We wanted to make it as clean and hassle-free as possible.

Medical care is a whole 'nother ball game.  I was told that the rules are set by Medicare whether you're on Medicare or not!  We wanted to remain with Kaiser Permanente but were not allowed to because your domicile address must be in the same coverage area as your doctors.  You probably will not be allowed to keep your same doctors if you move out of their coverage area AND if you don't want issues over your domicile.  At the time we moved we were not yet on Medicare.  We changed to Blue Cross/Blue Shield because it covered us regardless of the state in which we were traveling or staying temporarily.  If you plan to travel, don't limit yourself to an HMO that will provide only emergency treatment if you're away from your home.  BC/BS is a PPO that provides care wherever you may be within the U.S.A.  By the way, we now have Medicare and our secondary insurance is United Healthcare  through AARP.  United Healthcare also is provided nationwide.  Finally, you need to talk with people who handle these issues in the state you want to use as your new domicile.  What I have might not be provided in your new state because every state has different options.

A lot of full-time RVers make Texas their legal domicile because the Escapees organization in Livingston TX provides a mail forwarding service with a legal address that can be used for everything, including voting.

Figuring out your domicile has many ramifications so take your time making the decision.  Such things as personal property taxes, state income tax, vehicle registration and the like all affect your financial well-being so you want to make sure you do it right BEFORE making the move.  It's complex but worth doing your homework.

ArdraF
 
ArdraF said:
A lot of full-time RVers make Texas their legal domicile because the Escapees organization in Livingston TX provides a mail forwarding service with a legal address that can be used for everything, including voting.

Ardra, just to bring you up to date, Escapees now offers domicile services that include a Florida, South Dakota, or Texas mailing address. For Florida and South Dakota, you get an "official business" address in that state, while all your other mail goes to the regular Texas remailing address. Any mail received at your "official business" address is automatically forwarded to your Texas address for remailing along with your regular mail. It's a bit awkward, but those using the service that way seem happy with it.
 
Dutch, thanks for the update.  We haven't belonged to Escapees for a while so I didn't know about those additions - but I still think Escapees is a wonderful deal for fulltimers.  Solves a lot of their problems at one place!  And their care facilities are wonderful for people who have nowhere else to go.

ArdraF
 
ArdraF said:
Dutch, thanks for the update.  We haven't belonged to Escapees for a while so I didn't know about those additions - but I still think Escapees is a wonderful deal for fulltimers.  Solves a lot of their problems at one place!  And their care facilities are wonderful for people who have nowhere else to go.

ArdraF

Yep, even without you, Escapees is still a great group... And you are missed!  ;D
 
1.  We would like to maintain our primary care and specialist physicians in North Carolina by scheduling annual or semi-annual visits with them. Could this be a liability with a Florida domain?
2.  We really like our bank, a smaller North Carolina institution. It has full online banking services, including smartphone deposit capability, as well as nationwide no-fee ATM services through Allpoint. And the banking fees are very reasonable. Could keeping a North Carolina bank pose a Florida domain issue?
3.  Would keeping North Carolina as our permanent domain be feasible? Personal income tax is high, and I don?t know of any mail services in North Carolina that would provide a permanent address.

The concept of "domicile" is a loose one, but fortunately is rarely an issue for RVers. There just aren't many things that depend on it unless you are applying for local civil service job, for example. It has little effect on taxes or other daily life things, simply because state and federal laws all have their own definitions as to what constitutes being a "resident" (another foggy term) of some jurisdiction.  The main thing is to avoid muddling too many jurisdictions, e.g. vote in one place, vehicle tags in another, community ties (postal address, doctors, banks) elsewhere, etc.  If the domicile issue ever does arise, e.g. who probates your will, the preponderance of your ties to a given community will likely weigh heavily.

Florida doesn't care where you bank or see a doctor. Since a large number of Florida "residents" are seasonal, they are accustomed to that sort of thing. Just file a Florida Declaration of Domicile" to get your preference on-record. Just don't expect it to mean anything much. For example, North Carolina might decide to tax you based on your presence & ties there. NC doesn't care if you declared Florida your domicile - they will follow their own taxing policies and do what they will.

Your medical insurer(s) may care if they are an HMO or have regionally-adjusted rates or services. Again, they will have their own definition and "domicile" may or may not enter into it. Usually not. If they see you doctoring mostly in NC, they may decide that's where you live, at least for their purposes.

So, the more community and legal ties you have in one place, the better equipped you are if it becomes necessary to argue where your legally reside.
 
There are obvious advantages to becoming a Florida resident. The first, and most well-known, is?Florida has no state income tax.
Full-time RV living in Florida has become a lifestyle choice for increasing numbers of modern-day nomads and Florida is a popular destination. Improvements in RV amenities and the scarcity of affordable housing are a few of the reasons that some people take their home to the open road permanently. Since home-schooling options have become more widely available, even families with young children can be full-time RV residents. Improvements in technology have made it possible for full-time RV residents to telecommute, pay bills, and stay in touch with friends and family while on the road.
How do you become a Florida Resident?
A lot of identity verification rules have been put in place since we hit the road, adding some additional hoops to getting a driver?s license in any state. Which means you need to start your process a month or so before getting your driver?s license to make sure you have everything you need.
Here?s the steps we recommend after going through the process ourselves:
 Get quotes for your health and auto insurance and check into registration fees, so there will be no surprises.
 Establish your new domicile address at least a month before you anticipate applying for your driver?s license or ID card. Do your research as to which is best for you ? rates for insurance (vehicle & health) can vary widely at different zip codes. Vehicle insurance rates are very reasonable in Okaloosa County.
 I recommend Good Sam Mail Service https://www.goodsammailservice.com/ in Florida. They?ve been in business for many years serving the cruising, RVing and traveler communities, and we?ve heard nothing but glowing recommendations. They were easy to work with, sign-up was handled all online, and they provided all of the forms and instructions. They quickly answered our questions, including verifying that you could use our new address for our businesses without needing any additional occupancy license. Very impressed with their high tech scanning solution that actually lets you see the outside of incoming mail as soon as it arrives, and for a small extra fee they will even open your mail and scan the contents on request!
 As with any mail forwarding service, you?ll need to fill out a Postal Form 1583 to authorize the service to forward mail to you. The form must be notarized, and you must send copies of 2 forms of identification for each person along with it.
 Make sure your SSN card shows your name exactly as you want it to appear on your license.
 Start changing your address with banks, credit cards and insurance companies.

Why Florida over other states?
- Very little red tape in Florida making it an easy transition.
- Some of the most beautiful RV Resorts in the country.
- The obvious, no state income tax.
- Driver?s license is good for 8 years plus it?s easy to renew online wherever you?re at.
- No annual vehicle inspections like Texas. This is big because you have to move your RV to the inspection station every year.
- In Florida you only need a Class E driver?s license for any size RV. In some states you?ll need a special non-commercial Class A or B driver?s license.
- Florida is highly regarded by a few RV Club?s for mail forwarding ? Florida has far more resources for mail forwarding. 
- No pension tax in Florida
- No astronomical fees for vehicle registration, Florida is very reasonable.
 
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