Legal Resident Question?

htneighbors

Unbelievably Blessed!
OK, my turn...does a person have to establish 'domicile' or 'permanent residency' or whatever you call it, in a state where they own a house?

My situation is this: Hopefully by the end of next month, wife coming with me on the road! :D Sticks-n-Bricks for sale in OK, but DW already has her eye on one in CO. If the OK house sold today, we will be in the Cyclone for a couple of months before everything can get finalized on the mountain cabin. We will need to have mail forwarding in place prior to DW coming with me.

Also, since we will only 'infrequently' visit the cabin in the mountains, I will need to continue with the mail forwarding until ??? - who knows when? There would be no need for mail to be delivered to that address. I'd rather have a 'permanent' address in - like SD - with the mail forwarding folks. Can I do this, even though I will be purchasing a place in CO? :confused:

Thanks!
 

TXBobcat

Fulltime
Well you may get a lot of opinions. Here's mine. You need an address for your drivers license, insurance and other important papers. Voting registration is another.
This should be the place you live, receive your mail and such.

I would suggest you use a mail place like the one in South Dakota and Livingston TX. You can have your mail sent to you no matter where you are. If you stay at a house in Colorado and your going to be there for say 2 or 3 months have them sent to you there then the rest of the time were you are traveling.

This is similar to what we do as fulltiming. During Nov, Dec and Jan we have the Escapees send our mail to us at our daughters house. The rest of the year we have them send it to the campground we are staying at or to a near by General Delivery post office, preferably a small town.

Works for us…
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
Our situation isn't for everyone but it works for us. We have a Son in Dixon, IL. We use his address for our residence. He forwards our mail after sorting out the junk mail. We can even discuss what mail we want forwarded or tossed. We have our insurance, credit cards and all business matters using that address. A bonus, like a few other states, IL does not charge state tax on any fund distributions. Our vehicles and drivers licenses are IL. All we had to do was show a cell phone bill. We are also registered to vote in IL and had no trouble last year voting using an absentee ballot. We can renew everything on-line and all or our bills are paid by me through our bank in WI. We can own property in WI as IL residents as long as we pay the property tax, there is no problems having an IL address. So if you have kids (young adults) in the state you want to reside in you should have no problems. I like having the control on our mail and stuff like that too. And it's a free service, I just give them postage money now and then.
 

Rickhansen

Well-known member
It's a great question that we've wrestled with over the last few years of full-timing. Unfortunately there seems to be no clear and simple answer, and things are changing.

In NC, we used a commercial PO box number as a "physical" address. The County Clerk and Drivers License Office assumed that it was an address and an apartment number. This was not entirely on the up and up, but it worked for us, even enough to pass a FBI background check and receive a Concealed Handgun Permit.

We've been in Florida about 14 months now. We were able to use the campground address as our legal address for residency when we came down here. Florida is in the process of tightening up under pressure from Homeland Security. Nowdays, as I understand, you will need several forms of proof. These include vehicle titles, rental agreements, utility bills, etc. - More difficult, but still certainly not impossible.

My bet is that the other more lenient states, like South Dakota and Texas, will soon be pushed to tighten their laws as well.

The Escapees seem to have the best compilation of information that I've located.
 

SmokeyBare

Well-known member
We sold our principal resident and went full time. I selected South Dakota for our State of residency. We have a real Address with street number... not a post office box. We have our license plates from SD... as well as driver license and vehicle insurance. We can vote using this information.

We are selling a house in Ohio... it's on contract but until the terms are met... it's still titled in our name. This is not a problem... no question about our State of Residence being SD.

Many folks... well the wealthy ones... have several homes. In many different states as well as different countries.

What I feel can cause problems would be getting stopped by say a State Patrol... and having a driver license in your pocket from state # 1... insurance and vehicle plates from State # 2... and be stopped in say State # 3. This would/could cause the Officer some confusion... Look sort of "Funny" and sure cause a whole bunch more questions.

One small issue I have coming up soon will be getting our driver license renewed. With both of us having difference birth dates... In South Dakota the rules allow renewing them as early as 180 days BEFORE... or Less than 30 days after your birth date. In our case this requires us to be somewhere in SD... the second week of May, 2010. Not exactly the best time to be that far north. We'll cross that bridge next year.

I considered changing our State of Residency to Florida... but after doing the Math... with rates for insurance that I gathered this last winter... it would have run a little more to consider Florida for a home state than it is for SD.

Hope this helps some.... Marv
 

htneighbors

Unbelievably Blessed!
I appreciate all the replies. After reading Tom of Ypsi's post on another thread about them, I am certainly considering Americas-Mailbox in Rapid City as the service to use. I would definitely register the vehicles, voting, DL change, vehicle insurance, etc... I just didn't know if it would be 'legal' to do so - establish this type of 'home' in one state where I owned nothing, while at the same time actually owning a 'house' in another state,, in which I'll visit periodically. Just don't know how all that stuff works.

I did talk to the lady at Americas-Mailbox today and she even suggested getting a local library card from Rapid City as well.

Another thing confusing me is this (from their info/app I downloaded and printed off): "In order to register to vote, a member of Americas Mailbox MUST spend at least one night in Pennington County using the address of where you spent the night as the residential address." I'll have to find out more about that. It seems they (the county voting folks) may eventually decide to mail something to me at the address I list. :confused:

I certainly would only be 'visiting' my house in Colorado on a very limited basis. With my job being on the road, I'm certainly living full-time in the I LOVE MY CYCLONE!:D - I'd just have a cabin in the Colorado mountains for R&R! :) I've been in Wyoming since last June, recently moving north for a new project we're just getting started on. There's no telling where the next project will be. I work for an engineering company in Denver as an industrial electrical inspector - currently building natural gas plants. The company has numerous projects from California to Pennsylvania - I could end up anywhere next.

BTW: Currently, I have ZERO, NONE, NADA, ZILCH phone and air card service at the CG I am staying. I got a booster/amp and need a better antenna and the right adapter cables - so I'll be checking this when I can. Thanks again.
 

kakampers

Past Heartland Ambassador
It is perfectly legal to claim residence in one state and own property in another! Think about it, people all over the country live in one state and own "vacation" property in another. We did it for years. We lived in Maryland and owned a place in Virginia...we've never claimed residency in Virginia, even after selling the MD home and going fulltime.

When we cut ties with Maryland, we immediately set-up residency in SD. We sold the Virginia property in 07' and bought a place in Texas. We are still residents in SD...we just make sure we don't over stay the legal "residency limit" of Texas, which is 180 days. After that we'd be required to claim residency there.

Just check the residency requirements in the state you own, or will own property, and be sure not to "over stay your non-resident welcome"

Absolutely NOTHING illegal about it...:D

P.S. I will also say you should make sure that everything important, i.e., driver's license, tags, titles, wills, listed banking address, etc. are in the state in which you claim residency. All tax bills, etc., from the property you own in another state should also be sent to your address in that state of residence. This shows clear intent of truly being a resident of that state....this is what is looked at by all authorities, both state and federal. When important documents are scattered all over, that's when you create a problem. We've been legal residents of SD since early 2005, and have never had ANY problem...and we've ALWAYS owned property in another state.
 

htneighbors

Unbelievably Blessed!
Done Deal...Almost!

At this point - it's as good as done! Just a little more time - gotta postpone about another month, though! With the daughter, Micah, (whom some of you know) graduating mid-May, it would be too much on her - emotionally and physically. Trying to prepare for now and then move a few days after graduating. Too much Senior stuff going on right now. DW will remain in OK with her until sometime in June. Looks like I'll be a SD resident before long! Thanks for alll the feedback! :D
 

Oldlthrneck

Just an Old Jarhead
HT:
You might want to do a bit more investigating about Colorado. When I was up there working in Meeker, there were a lot of the crafstmen that were from all over working on the project. A vast majority of them were stopped by the CSP and told that there is a Colorado requirement to establish residency after a 30 day period in the state. A couple of the guys staying in the same RV park I was in were required to go get Colorado plates on their Trucks and Rvs. I never got stopped, not sure why, but I know of the two in our park, one rig right next to mine, that were stopped and ticketed and had to go to court with proof that they changed over. Hate to rain on your parade, but thought you might want that bit of info.
Fred and Elizabeth.
 

htneighbors

Unbelievably Blessed!
Howdy Fred and Lizzy - Can't believe my baby is graduating!

I have been digging in to the Colorado State Statutes. It seems the "habitation" for one's "place of abode" is "fixed" - according to their rules. They may have different rules about someone coming into their state to work - as does Wyoming, where I am currently.

Wyoming's statutes state "immediately upon entering the state" when coming here to work, you must register your vehicle. I did that & have WY plates on my truck as we speak - at the cost of over $250/yr. But they are only legal as long as I keep my home state plates current - (currently OK). I have to carry the OK plate with me inside the truck. Legally, I probably was supposed to register my Cyclone and Harley in Wyoming as well, since I have them here too. Not gonna though - I don't take them to work! :D

As far as residency goes, I think I'll be fine by establishing everything in SD, since my actual time spent in Colorado will be very limited. I'll basically be a full-time RVer, home-based in SD, working where the jobs lead me, and have a "vacation" cabin in the Colorado mountains! Here's a bunch of the Colorado legalese...


Title 1, Article 1, Section 104(43), of the Colorado Revised Statutes. The
statute is quoted as follows: '''Residence' means the principal or
primary home or place of abode of a person, as set forth in section
1-2-102.'' Pertinent sections of 1-2-102(1), C.R.S. include the
following:
(a) (I) The residence of a person is the principal or primary home
or place of abode of a person. A principal or primary home or place of
abode is that home or place in which a person's habitation is fixed
and to which that person, whenever absent, has the present intention
of returning after a departure or absence, regardless of the duration
of the absence. A residence is a permanent building or part of a
building and may include a house, condominium, apartment, room in a
house, or mobile home. No vacant lot or business address shall be
considered a residence.
(b) In determining what is the principal or primary place of abode
of a person, the following circumstances relating to the person shall
be taken into account: Business pursuits, employment, income sources,
residence for income or other tax purposes, age, marital status,
residence of parents, spouse, and children, if any, leaseholds, sites
of personal and real property, existence of any other residences and
the amount of time spent at each residence, and motor vehicle
registration.
(c) The residence given for voting purposes shall be the same as the
residence given for motor vehicle registration and for state income
tax purposes.
 

Oldlthrneck

Just an Old Jarhead
Sounds like you are doing your homework. That's good. I know Montana was like Wy. They wanted me to register everything there too. They have a law that covers people coming to their state to work. Still had to keep my Wa plates and registration, but had to show Montana plates. The cost was about the same as you're paying in Wy.
That "empty nest" syndrome is going to hit you hard. When mine moved out I don't think I got a decent nights sleep for 6 months. Now they are in their late 40's and still worry about them. No matter how old they get, they're still your kids. lol And you might as well get used to it now. YOU are the "Bank of Dad". lol We weren't around your daughter very long, but from what we could see, you've done a great job. She is a great young lady, and you have every right to be proud of her.
Take care, and look forward to seeing you down the road. Where ever that might be.
Fred and Elizabeth.
 

hazdude0861

Member
In reference to your questions on Colorado residency, you become a resident of the state as soon as you begin employment in the state, or if you are unemployeed then you become a resident after living CONTINUOSLY in the state for 90 days.
You have 30 days after becoming a resident to get a colorado DL and register your vehicles. (I am a retired State Patrol officer, had to enforce this one!)
I had a problem for a while when I was claiming New Mexico as a home base (which I will NEVER, NEVER do again) When I went to get my CLD in NM, they would not accept my mail forwarding address as a legal address (it was fine for regular Drivers license and vehicle registration, just not CDL). What I did was fill out a lease agreement with a reletive that lives in NM, for a parking place on a ongoing annual basis for $1.00 per year. I checked with an attourny and this is legal, it gave me a physical address, and I used my mail forwarding address to receive mail.
 

htneighbors

Unbelievably Blessed!
In reference to your questions on Colorado residency, you become a resident of the state as soon as you begin employment in the state...

But...not unless I live there - correct? I've been employed by a Colorado company for a year, but I haven't lived there; been a legal resident of Oklahoma for years. Even if I buy a mountain cabin in Colorado, I won't be living in it - just visiting/vacationing.
 

kakampers

Past Heartland Ambassador
That's correct, as long as you're not living there more than 90 days OR working within the state...you're just visiting or vacationing.

As for the 90 days...if you were to stay longer in your cabin, who would really know unless you have a really nosy neighbor.
 
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