Domicile planning is an important but often overlooked aspect of legal and financial planning. Domicile is basically where a person considers their permanent home. It’s important to ask the right questions at the right time to help clients plan for their domicile and avoid problems in the future. This can help them and their families in the long run. It’s important to understand what domicile means and how it can affect legal and financial matters. Domicile planning is important for people who are moving to a new place or are unsure of where they officially live. There are three main groups of people who might need domicile planning: those with a changing domicile (like older people retiring to Florida or people moving for work), those with a changeable domicile (like people who split their time between different places), and those with an uncertain domicile (like people who haven’t really decided where they want to live). It’s important to figure out the best place for a person to call home and take steps to make it official. Sometimes, it might not be Florida, so it’s important to think about all the options before making a decision. If you have connections to Florida, it might be a good idea to become a resident there because it has tax advantages and laws that can protect your assets. However, some people may want to avoid becoming a Florida resident for certain reasons, like tax issues or laws that could affect their estate. It’s important to talk to your advisors and consider all the factors before making a decision. There are some benefits to staying in your current state, so be sure to think carefully before making a change. Changing your state of residence to Florida can have legal, tax, and financial implications. It’s important to talk to your advisors, but keep in mind that they may have different opinions. If you decide to change your domicile, it’s better than leaving it unclear. To establish Florida as your new domicile, you need to understand the laws of your old state and take the necessary steps to make the switch. Domicile is where a person considers their permanent home, and it can have tax implications. Courts and tax authorities look at evidence like a person’s actions and intentions to determine their domicile. To establish a new domicile in Florida, a person should have as many connections there as possible, like owning property or filing official statements. These actions can show that a person intends to make Florida their permanent home. It’s important to have solid evidence to prove domicile, because courts may not rely heavily on a person’s own statements about their intentions. Domicile is where you consider your main home to be. If you want to establish domicile in Florida, you need to spend most of your time there and not much time in your old home state. If you’re trying to sell your old home but it’s not selling, keep evidence that you’re trying. Also, keep track of how much time you spend in each location. If you still have business contacts in your old state, it might show that you haven’t really moved to Florida. If you’re married and one person can’t prove they have moved to Florida, the other person might still be able to claim Florida as their domicile. When you change where you live, there are a lot of things to consider. For example, even if you move to Florida, you might still have to pay taxes in your old state. You should talk to a local lawyer to figure out if you still owe taxes there. You might also need to change your estate planning documents to follow the laws in your new state. And it’s a good idea to find new advisors who know the laws in your new state, so they can help you with your finances and legal stuff. If you own property in other states, you might have to pay state estate or inheritance taxes. To avoid this, you can put the property into a corporation or similar entity, but you might have to pay a different tax in Florida. If you want to protect your property from taxes and creditors, make sure to follow the rules for homestead benefits, like the size of the property and when to apply for tax purposes. Overall, it’s important to plan carefully to avoid problems with taxes and protection of your property. This article talks about how where you live can affect your taxes and legal protections. For example, if you live in Florida, you might pay less in taxes than if you live in New York. Where you live can also affect what happens to your property after you die. It’s important to understand these rules so you can make the best decisions for yourself and your family. If you want to show that you live in Florida, you should do things like file your taxes from a Florida address, get a Florida driver’s license, register to vote in Florida, and let organizations know you live in Florida now. You should also move your important stuff, like cars and bank accounts, to Florida and tell your old state that you don’t live there anymore. It’s also a good idea to get involved in your new community and make new friends there. Patrick J. Lannon is a lawyer in Miami who works at White & Case LLP. He is allowed to practice law in Florida and New York. This column is written on behalf of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section, with Julius J. Zschau as the chair, and Richard R. Gans and William P. Sklar as the editors. They aim to teach their members about serving the public and improving the justice system.
Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/domicile-planning-dont-take-it-for-granted/
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