By Robin Roshkind, Esquire, West Palm Beach, Florida
In order to qualify for a divorce in the State of Florida, you must be a Florida RESIDENT for more than 6 months prior to filing for divorce.
How do you prove residency? In order to answer that question, you must understand the legal differences between DOMICILE and RESIDENCY.
Many people come to Florida and buy vacation homes or condos. These qualify as DOMICILES. One can own a house in the Hamptons, a ski condo in Vail, a home in Greenwich, and a condo in Palm Beach. These are domiciles. One can have many domiciles.
A person can only have one RESIDENCE. That is where you legally live, where most of your “stuff” is, where you pay taxes, where you get homestead exemptions. Residency is a legal state. Domicile is a physical one.
Some indicators of residency are leases, mortgage, drivers license, tax bills, homestead exemptions. Courts in Palm Beach County will accept a drivers license as proof of residency.
For more information about this or other divorce topics, call one of the divorce lawyers at ROBIN ROSHKIND, P.A. at 561-835-9091 or click on the Firm’s web site at www.familylawwpb.com.
