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The Issue of Domicile

The-Issue-of-Domicile

By Shawn R. Loring, Esq #76442; CM #13

Recently, a new domicile issue came to the attention of the Escapees RV Club. Some Escapees members who have Scottrade investment accounts received a letter from Scottrade stating that it would not accept the Escapees mail service addresses as valid permanent addresses, presenting these members with a choice:

 

It is important to note, that other financial institutions have sent similar letters with like ultimatums to Escapees. Some RVers may be tempted to supply these financial institutions and investment companies with an address that is not truly their legal address merely to satisfy these companies’ requests. However, by claiming connections to addresses that are not their primary places of residence, RVers risk having entities such as courts of law use the addresses that RVers provided to financial institutions as their actual addresses, and this could change their domicile and create the issues noted above.

Because RVers have wheels under their homes and travel extensively from state to state, and sometimes from country to country, they face a unique set of legal issues. Domicile issues are amongst the most common, and complex, of the problems RVers face. While there is no universally accepted definition of the term “domicile” used and mutually accepted by all of the states, “domicile” is conceptually defined as the place to which a person intends to permanently return. For part-time RVers, living the dream of RVing includes spending some time in a brick and mortar home, which may answer the question of where they intend to permanently return. However, for full-time RVers, the question of where they are domiciled can be a difficult one to answer, and it impacts many aspects of their lives. The unresolved issue of where RVers are domiciled could significantly affect their tax liabilities, the effectiveness of their estate planning documents and the state in which they are legally allowed to vote and register their vehicles. These challenges represent a sample of the more common issues.

Scottrade and these other financial institutions are forcing the resolution of issue of domicile with RVers because they have been obliged to respond to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) regulation* that requires broker dealers and investment companies to know their customers and the sources of the funds in their customers’ investment accounts. The intention is that this information will curb criminal activity by showing and giving the opportunity to eliminate times when a company or person could be financially supporting terrorist cells and/or other criminal actions. (The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority [FINRA] is the largest independent regulator for all securities firms doing business in the United States.) The FINRA regulation reads as follows:

The minimum identifying information that must be obtained from each customer prior to opening an account is (amongst other items) an address, which will be: For an individual who does not have a residential or business street address…the residential or business street address of a next of kin or another contact individual…

The initial and incorrect interpretation of this FINRA regulation by financial institutions resulted in a requirement that their customers provide a permanent physical address, which full-time RVers cannot always do. Upon closer inspection of the regulation, I discovered, and Scottrade agreed, that customers could supply an alternate address, instead of providing their own permanent physical address, and still comply with the regulation. The problem, therefore, has been resolved.

However, it is important to be aware of the correct wording contained within the regulation, as it represents an important exception that greatly benefits RVers. Should RVers be required to supply a financial institution or an investment company with an address, this exception will enable RVers to continue to use the Escapees mail service as their mailing address, while maintaining domicile within a chosen state.

It is vitally important that financial institutions and investment companies record RVers’ addresses in a manner that does not state or imply that RVers are domiciled in a state different from their actual, intended states of domicile. Any lack of clarity regarding RVers’ states of domicile could expose RVers to tax liabilities, as well as create some of the other domicile problems listed above. In short, the recordation of RVers’ mail service address must be listed as their personal, legal address, with all correspondence directed to the mail service address. The alternate address, authorized by the FINRA regulation, must be correctly identified and recorded as the address of RVers’ “next of kin or another contact individual.” Making these distinctions could nullify significant domicile issues.

I have spoken with senior management of the Escapees RV Club and they are committed to dedicating their resources to ensure that you, as RVers, will not be adversely affected by these issues. If you are met with resistance from these entities, please contact Escapees RV Club at 888-757-2582 and ask for Teresa Moore. We will happily work with you to resolve the challenges you might encounter.

Shawn is a partner in McClendon & Loring, Attorneys at Law, PLLC, and is licensed to practice law in California and Texas. In addition, Shawn is also the CEO of Generations Financial Services, LLC.

13 Responses

  1. We have lived in Illinois for 50 years. We live in our RV. We recently sold our house but kept our P. O. Box for mail. What can we do about a physical address? Can joining Escapees help us solve this problem?

    1. Hi Beverly!
      Yes, our mail forwarding service supplies a legal physical address for customers to use. We can forward your mail to anywhere in North America so you don’t have to worry about it as you travel.

  2. I have lived in KY for 1 1/2 years, and I am living in my motorhome. I plan to travel the country in it, living in it full-time. I am still going to continue working, as my job allows me to work from home full-time. I am a licensed mortgage loan officer in IL, IN, KY and FL, and the company I work for is licensed in those states as well. I am confused as to what I am supposed to do, to legally be a domiciled resident of FL, while actually only visiting there once a year. I have no family members traveling with me, no estate or financial issues that need to be transferred. I am not a ‘member’ of a particular church or organization, besides my employment. I basically have no legal ties that bind me anywhere. I am new to full-time RVing, but hate making mistakes, so good sound advice on the easiest way to legally achieve FL domicile status would be deeply appreciated. Thank you!!!

  3. As an Escapees member, I plan to Domicile in Florida, using the Sumter Oaks RV Park in Bushnell, FL to register my vehicles and obtain my driver’s license.

    My understanding is that my mailing address will still be Livingston, Texas, except for anything relating to my vehicle registrations and drivers license.

    If I am understanding this article correctly,

    Should all of my financial institutions have my Bushnell, Florida address as my permanent legal address, or my “next of kin or another contact individual?” And, then should I list the mail service address in Livingston, Texas as the address to where all correspondence should be directed?

    Thank very much.

    Dave

    1. Hi Dave!
      Both are good questions. You are correct- you will have a Florida address for all mail that must be mailed to a Florida address for legal reasons, AND you’ll have a Livingston, Texas address where everything else should be sent. Because your Florida address will be your residential address, you should use that where specified and/or required. However, many companies allow for an alternate address for mailings, which is when you would use your Livingston address.
      If you’d like a more detailed follow-up, I recommend you call our office and speak to one of our customer care staff who are more familiar with the details of our mail service.

      1. I try to understand to get prepared to be RVer for a while, to do so, I want to sell my house and live in my RV and drive around country for a while (a year…).
        According to Dave Koch idea with the address To a RV Park Resort in Bushnell FL, how does it work ?
        If I do not want to stay at one place, but I need an address for Tax, driver license (I am already a Florida License)…What is my option:
        – I pick a RV Park Resort in FL
        – Do I have to pay monthly a Lot at the RV Park? Or I can use the RV Park Address as a Storage ?
        In a mean time a storage address would help for my Allstate RV Insurance.

        So my question is: Is a Regular Storage in FL is enough and can become my Permanent legal(fiscal) address? Or it has to be at a RV Park Resort but as “Storage” agreement/not paying a permanent RV camping Lot.

        As you see this is my hardest part to jump into that free life, I am still not seeing all the pictures. I do not want to get in a trouble with IRS, my auto Insurance, my Mail…

        1. Hi Jean!

          There is some information implied in Dave’s questions that you may not be familiar with.

          The park in Bushnell, Florida is owned and operated by us, Escapees RV Club. It is also a satellite location for our mail forwarding service (https://escapees.com/mail-service/). These two things in conjunction have allowed us to offer our members addresses at this park that are used with our mail forwarding service, and may be used to establish domicile if they wish to do so. They must be signed up for our mail forwarding service and complete the proper club and state paperwork to use our Florida location as their domicile address.

          There are many steps to establishing domicile, much more than renting a storage space or RV park lot. You must be able to receive certain legal documents at that address, which is why storage facilities don’t typically work for the need you described.

          I am not a legal nor financial professional, and can’t offer you advice on either topic. However, we do work with professionals in each field who are familiar with the unique needs of RVers (Legal: https://escapees.com/benefits/endorsed-vendors/, Financial: https://xscapers.com/category/mobile-finances/) . I highly recommend you reach out to a professional for advice specific to your situation. There are lots of variables that can affect your options, and a professional is trained to know what they are and how they can help or hinder your goals.

  4. I have run into this problem with American Express. I have a prepaid debit card that I recently tried to get replaced because the card is old and damaged. I have used a UPS store mail box for about 15 years. They suddenly said that I could not use that address anymore and needed to provide a real physical address before they would send a new card. I have also had this address refused before. My understanding is when they check the address thru the US Post office system it shows up as a commercial address not a residential address.

  5. I am from Georgia… and am getting ready to live full-time on my RV… my question is if I have no permanent and take advantage of this way of dealing with a permanent address… How are people dealing with drivers license… tags for cars and RV’s. Presently I do not have to get my car or RV emissions inspected and would like to keep it that way for cost purposes… Can someone please explain how that all works… The mail thing is fine… I get that… it’s the other documentation that takes a permanent address… Thanks for your response…

  6. I’m considering changing my official residence to either Texas or Florida. Is there a comparison chart or website that lays out the respective taxes one would pay if legal address was either in Polk County, TX or Sumter County, FL? I’m currently shopping for an RV. The sales tax and future renewals, along with if there are any required inspections for an RV and Vehicles seem to be the tipping point on which state I pick.

  7. Does the physical address in Florida and Texas show up as a residential address? I tried to use the MyRVMail address in Crestview Florida and financial institutions will not accept it.

    1. The addresses we use for our Texas and Florida mail service are tied to campgrounds where you CAN reside. This has been helpful when the technicalities of residence are challenged in state legislatures, as customers of our mail service can potentially reside at that location if they choose to. I can’t promise every reference database of addresses has them marked as residential versus commercial (there are several used by various industries), but on the occasion that our members run into these issues, they’re usually navigated pretty easily and quickly. Our Member Services Team is also available to help with those questions when they arise.

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