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Topic: Tagging your RV in one state and having a stick home in another stat (Read 2 times) previous topic - next topic
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Tagging your RV in one state and having a stick home in another stat
Yahoo Message Number: 98191
Don,

When we sold our home, placed items in storage and hit the road as full time RVers, Ginny attended an Escape seminar on Domicile led by a lawyer.  If you own or rent a place in a permanent location where you can lay your head to sleep, then that is your domicile.   In our case our storage locker did not apply, since we could not sleep there, so we could chooses where to establish residency.   Your stick home is your domicile until you choose to sell it and live permanently in your RV.   That means car registration, state taxes, voting and whatever else must take place in the state of your stick home.  If you fail to do this and are caught, you will end up with some hefty fines and interest on back taxes.  For those of you who are Escapees and would like to learn more about domicile, check and see if this seminar is still offered at the Escapades.  It is well worth the time.
 If you do indeed have a permanent home in South Dakota too, then check with each state to see what laws apply.  The state where you spend over half the year or more is  likely to be your domicile in this case.

Ginny and Jim Now owners of a stick home once again
Tagging your RV in one state and having a stick home in another stat
Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 98194
If you own or rent a place in a permanent location where you

Quote
can lay your head to sleep, then that is your domicile.

No, it's not!

Think about all the people who own houses in two different states.
Snowbirds come to mind: they own a house in a northern state and a house in a southern state. While both states are "residences" only ONE of them is a "domicile."  The domicile state is the one where you have your driver's license, your vehicles registered, where you're registered to vote, etc.
 In short, just because you own a home in a state does not, all by itself, make it a domicile state...a residence, yes; a domicile, not necessarily.
 As long as Don moves into his RV permanently, doesn't continue living in his house, doesn't continue to reside in the state of Alabama (even in his RV), and makes all the other changes anyone would make when moving to a new state, then he shouldn't have a problem.  However, if he comes back to Alabama and moves back into his house, however briefly, then Alabama would have a good argument for him not really having made a move to a new state.
 When we were still working, we moved from state to state with Earl's job.
In a couple of cases, we still owned a house in the old state when we made the move to the new state.  Even though we still owned a house in the old state, we changed domicile to the new state by getting driver's licenses in the new state, registering our vehicles there, registering to vote there, and when we did taxes at the end of the year, we used on new address on the old state's tax return and wrote "final return" on it.  Just because we still owned a house in the old state didn't mean that we were still domiciled there.

Linda Hylton http://map.datastormusers.com/user1.cfm?user=1167 http://earl-linda.blogspot.com/
Linda Hylton
Tagging your RV in one state and having a stick home in another stat
Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 98196
"The state where you spend over half the year or more is likely to be your domicile in this case."
 As Linda points out, it's not that simple. I've been legally domiciled in Texas for years, but I've spent a total of less than eight hours in the state. (Nothing against Texas; I just had other places to go. :-)

Simple rules of thumb like "over half a year" unfortunately don't cover the sometimes complex laws regarding domiciles, and mistakes can be very costly. It really pays to understand the legalities before you choose a course of action, and the Escapees seminars and printed materials (e.g., "How to Become a Real Texan") are one of the best ways I know of to do that homework.

Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
Re: Tagging your RV in one state and having a stick home in another
Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 98199
Choose a course of action, and the Escapees seminars and printed Materials (e.g., "How to Become a Real Texan") are one of the best Ways I know of to do that homework.>>

I found this on the Internet when I punched in How to Become a Real Texan...

http://tinyurl.com/8g786j

Ellen

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
 
Tagging your RV in one state and having a stick home in another stat
Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 98206
Quote
Simple rules of thumb like "over half a year" unfortunately don't cover the sometimes complex laws regarding domiciles, and mistakes can be very costly.

 Right.  While domicile is a fairly cut and dried issue for the person who lives in a sticks and bricks and works in a particular state, it can be a very more complex issue for the fulltime RVer.  No *one rule fits all* really applies.  Domicile can be a difficult subject to wrap ones head around, particularly for someone who is not familiar with the fulltime lifestyle or what it entails.  There's often a confusion between the terms "residence" and "domicile" which just adds to the difficulty in understanding the issue.  While they *can* be one and the same, they don't necessarily have to be...one can have several residences spread over several different states, but only one of those states can be a person's domicile.
 The "over half a year" doesn't fit our case, either.  We're domiciled in South Dakota but don't spend 6 months a year there.  In fact, the only times we've been there (other than visiting the Black Hills or other tourist sites) is initially when we went to get our first driver's licenses and register to vote and again when we had to renew our driver's licenses.
 Now, to Don's situation.  When he said "We will continue to have a stick home in Alabama for sometime" I just assumed he was talking about trying to sell it (nearly impossible in today's market) and going fulltime in his Lazy Daze.  Thus my answer to his question about domiciling in South Dakota.
 However, maybe my assumption was wrong.  If what Don is trying to do is remain at his house in Alabama with no intention of moving, and just put South Dakota tags on his Lazy Daze to avoid paying Alabama registration fees, then that's a big no-no and can get one into trouble.  Even if Don moves into his Lazy Daze on a fulltime basis, but remains in Alabama, then Alabama would have a very good case for calling him an Alabama resident and he should continue to license his vehicles there.

Linda Hylton http://map.datastormusers.com/user1.cfm?user=1167 http://earl-linda.blogspot.com/
Linda Hylton