How Do I Determine Someone's Domicile or Residency?

The General Rule

While states differ somewhat in how they define the place of domicile, the general rule of thumb can be stated as follows: the domicile is the place a person regards as his or her true home, and where they maintain the most economic, social, political, and family ties. Strong indicators of domicile include wherever a person pays taxes, votes, has a driver’s license, and lives most the year.

Military Personnel and College Students

Sometimes a person’s career or studies require them to move to another place for an extended period of time. Military personnel and college students are the most common examples. Figuring out their domicile often requires looking at all the surrounding circumstances, including the person’s intent.

A Military Example

Say Jennifer was born and raised in Virginia and decides to join the Navy. While Jennifer is in boot camp in Illinois for a year she will likely still be considered a legal resident of Virginia so long as her stay in Illinois is only temporary and she intends to travel elsewhere after boot camp. If Jennifer then gets stationed in Georgia but still expects to return Virginia right after her service is finished in two years, Jennifer still will likely be considered domiciled in Virginia.

Now, instead, pretend Jennifer gets married and decides to start a family and stay in Georgia for a while. If she only has a vague intent to “someday return to Virginia” but intends to stay in Georgia for an indefinite amount of time, then she is now likely domiciled in Georgia. This is because Jennifer now has substantial ties to Georgia—she resides there most the year, has a family and career there, and has no present intent to return to Virginia in the near future.

A College Example

Jennifer’s example would play out the same if she went to college instead of the Navy. She would still be a resident of her home state Virginia while going to college in Illinois. If she started working, paying taxes, and voting in Illinois, say in order to receive in-state tuition, then she would now be considered a resident of Illinois, even if she had some attenuated desire to return to Virginia one day.

Minors and Incompetents

The domicile of minors is usually straightforward and follows the domicile of their parent, legal guardian, or whoever’s custody they remain in most the time. If a minor splits time between divorced parents, often courts will have already determined which parent has primary custody of the child. This is usually the parent that the minor spends the majority of his or her time with.

With incompetent individuals, again the legal residency is normally determined by the domicile of the parents, legal guardian, or custodian. If the incompetent person has sufficient mental ability to form their own intent according to the court, that person may determine their own domicile.

Factors to Consider

As explained by the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), when the place of domicile is not so clear-cut, courts usually consider domicile to be the place the person has the most ties with. Here are some factors that, while not always determinative, weigh on the answer:

• Where does the person live most the year?
• Where does the person work, maintain bank accounts, pay taxes, and vote?
• Which state is his or her driver’s license from?
• Which state does the person consider “home”?
• Where is the person a member of social or religious groups or most involved in the community?
• Does the person have a clear present intent to move somewhere else that they consider home within the next couple years and not just a vague intent to someday move there?

Affidavit of Domicile

If someone dies, whoever administers the deceased person’s estate in probate court will need to indicate the decedent’s domicile in a document called an affidavit of domicile.

How To Create An Affidavit of Domicile

Use our simple affidavit of domicile form to quickly and easily create the legal document that you need in minutes online.