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Domicile Help!


Pjoe

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Hey everyone. It is getting time to select our domicile state and I'm not getting any help from Escapees. My original intent was to select Livingston, TX but after checking insurance rates on the MH and toad, it is a thousand dollars cheaper to register in Bushnell, Fl. I called the main Escapees number to get some info on how to set up mail service, register vehicles, get drivers license, etc., and they referred me to Sumter Oaks. I called Sumter Oaks, and was told all of that is handled through Livingston. Called Livingston and she referred me to the Escapees website to get forms for mail service but could not offer any help on the other issues besides an attorney number! I joined Escapees because I thought the group helped make this easier. Any suggestions or advice? What am I missing here? This is frustrating!

 

Bill

2010 Tiffin Allegro Bus

2012 Honda CRV

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Bill, I know that this sort of problem is not the typical experience so took the liberty of pointing it out to a member of Escapee management. I am sure that you will get some sort of assistance so please be patient. Even the best organizations occasionally drop the ball.

 

I learned many years ago that the test of quality for a service group is not if then never make a mistake because that is impossible to achieve. But the key to good service is what is done to correct things when a mistake has been made. :)

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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We chose Texas as our domicile 15 years ago as it works for us with our travels but it is not the solution for everyone. Having family in Florida I know from personal experience Florida is VERY good to seniors and if it weren't for the humidity would consider landing there when we get off the road.

 

Disclaimer: I do not personally know about the new Florida option of the Escapee Mail Service.

 

I do see on their application for mail service that you have a choice of Texas or Florida: https://escapees.com/MailService/Docs/1583.pdf

 

I am GUESSING if you select Florida you will then get a Florida address from the Mail Service.

 

Then you would get a Drivers License in Florida with that address: http://www.dmvflorida.org/drivers-license.shtml

 

Then you would register your vehicles at which time you can also register to vote: http://www.dmv.org/fl-florida/voter-registration.php#Register-to-Vote-in-Florida

 

Though you want to domicile in Florida this publication is for Texas but does outline the basic steps you would need to establish domicile: http://www.escapees.com/mailservice/Docs/texan.pdf and may help you with what questions you may need to ask?

 

Since South Dakota and Florida our new mail options for the Escapees Club: maybe a member with from either of those states with legal credentials and/or experience can use the"How to become a Texan" template and create a document for the website?

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Hey everyone. It is getting time to select our domicile state and I'm not getting any help from Escapees. My original intent was to select Livingston, TX but after checking insurance rates on the MH and toad, it is a thousand dollars cheaper to register in Bushnell, Fl. I called the main Escapees number to get some info on how to set up mail service, register vehicles, get drivers license, etc., and they referred me to Sumter Oaks. I called Sumter Oaks, and was told all of that is handled through Livingston. Called Livingston and she referred me to the Escapees website to get forms for mail service but could not offer any help on the other issues besides an attorney number! I joined Escapees because I thought the group helped make this easier. Any suggestions or advice? What am I missing here? This is frustrating!

 

Bill

Hello Bill,

 

“It is our normal procedure to forward domicile questions to Loring & Associates, as we do not address legal questions concerning domicile; however, I feel there may be a miscommunication in regards to you being referred to Sumter Oaks and are having trouble getting the information you need. If you will contact me directly, I will do what I can to help you.”

 

Teresa Moore, 888-757-2582.

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I used St. Brendan's Isle mail forwarding service in Green Cove Springs, Florida. I used my address assigned by them as my Florida mailing address. They have all the forms and info on their web site to establish your domicile in Florida. This is a thread I started showing the steps we used to change our domicile to Florida.

 

You definitely do NOT need to use Escapees for this service. St. Brendan's Isle has been in Florida far longer. We got marvelous service from them. While we have been living on our lot in Sliver Springs we suspended our service, but we will be starting it again in April when we leave for Colorado. All we have to do is file a temporary change of address with the post office to our St Brendan's Isle address, then have them forward mail where ever we might be for a few days. It works very well for us!

GS Lifetime #822128658, FMCA #F431170

 

2012 Airstream Mercedes Interstate Extended Class B

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Just reading between the lines above, I think some of the confusion as Escapees branched out into SD and Fl homebase options, its not clear to new prospects that SKP is providing a slightly different service than some of the long established services in those states. I'm guessing that most of the confusion is not about legal domicile questions that a lawyer in Tx could help with, but more about the detailed process for vehicle registrations and drivers license. Many of the SD based mail services and I assume some of those in Fl, provided their clients a detailed step by step set of instructions on where & how to accomplish those tasks. Some even went as far as offering to walk the clients vehicle registration paperwork(with a notarized power of attorney) over to the county office for processing (at an additional fee). This enabled many new fulltimers to register their vehicles before ever stepping foot inside SD (to get their DL).

Those used to dealing with SKP Texas process were used to making their own contacts for vehicles & DL. But those comparing the existing process & services provided by others in SD & Fl may be expecting more direct & detailed assistance with those steps. Escapees just needs to decide if they want to provide some detailed instructions for registration & licensing, or refer folks to their partners in those states for more details, or just make it clearer that Escapees staff is not physically in those states and is not providing any assistance other than mail forwarding and direct them to the appropriate County & DMV.

Jim

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I am GUESSING if you select Florida you will then get a Florida address from the Mail Service.

 

Yes, you do. However, you also get an Escapees mail forwarding service address. The Florida address (as well as the South Dakota address) is used just for domicile-related mail; e.g., driver's licenses, vehicle registration, and auto/RV/health insurance. Anything sent to Florida (or South Dakota) gets forwarded to your Escapees mail forwarding address in Livingston and then is forwarded to you upon request.

LindaH
2014 Winnebago Aspect 27K
2011 Kia Soul

 

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Sounds like a slightly more involved system than using a service such as St. Brendan's Isle. The mail is sent to them and they then forward directly to you where ever you are in the US. They scan the mail, you look online at the envelopes and decide if you wish to Hold the mail, Send the mail or Shred the mail (for the garbage we all invariably get). You use the St. Brendan's Isle service address as your official mailing address for ALL your mail, not just your domicile mail.

 

It just works!

GS Lifetime #822128658, FMCA #F431170

 

2012 Airstream Mercedes Interstate Extended Class B

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Hey everyone. It is getting time to select our domicile state and I'm not getting any help from Escapees.

If you would, let us all know how things go once you have contacted Teresa Moore (888-757-2582). I am always amused by the number of answers that folks get from others who want you to do whatever they have done. It would be very helpful to hear some information from one who has done the process here on the forums. From what I was told by an Escapee who uses the FL service of Escapees, they were pretty pleased but that would just be more second & third hand information. :)

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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First, thank you for your patience. As most of you know our service centers in Florida and South Dakota are relatively new.

 

We understand that in addition to great mail processing service, some folks have questions about the domicile/residency variances from state to state. We have a very basic step-by-step guide posted on our website at http://www.escapees.com/mailservice/Domicile%20Step%20by%20Step%20Guide.pdf but we have also compiled a lot more helpful information about vehicle registrations, driver’s licenses, and voter’s registrations, as well as helpful links and resources for all three states (Texas, Florida, and South Dakota).

 

We had intended to hold off until our NEW website was launched so we could display it in a much cooler way, but it will be a few weeks before the new site is open to the public, so I’ve asked our website administrators to go ahead and post the information on the current site. Please give them a day or so to get that accomplished.

 

SKP Hugs,

Cathie Carr

Escapees Club President

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St. Brendan's Isle is great. We've been using them since 2006. One big advantage is their expertise and assistance with setting up your Florida residency. They have all the forms available and can mail or email them to you.

 

For us, step one was to fill out aDeclaration of Domicile and submit it to the Clay County Clerk of the Court. Once that is recorded you are on your way. Now it straight forward to get your Drivers Liscence and Voters Registration.

 

Clay County seems to understand SBI's business so when you need to talk to,them you don't have to explain your situation. For example, last summer I got called for jury duty when we were in Canada. When I called the Clerk of the Court and explained that I was out of the country. They asked when I would be back. Six months...OK, no problem.

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I ve been looking forward to come on board for some time now ,again .I was registered with Escapees a few years ago before getting sick .First off,a great and family business with people that truly do care for its members.

I was with another "mail forwarding" company located in box Elder also but couldn't wait to make the switch back to escapees. The savings of insurance and registration in SD is unbelievable compared to the west coast .

Now the weather is clearing,I would like to stop by the office in Box elder and sign up ,go to DMV and provide them my "NEW" address.Can anyone provide the address?I have a difficult time filling out paperwork post stroke .Concentration .Thank you in advance.

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First, thank you for your patience. As most of you know our service centers in Florida and South Dakota are relatively new.

 

We understand that in addition to great mail processing service, some folks have questions about the domicile/residency variances from state to state. We have a very basic step-by-step guide posted on our website at http://www.escapees.com/mailservice/Domicile%20Step%20by%20Step%20Guide.pdf but we have also compiled a lot more helpful information about vehicle registrations, driver’s licenses, and voter’s registrations, as well as helpful links and resources for all three states (Texas, Florida, and South Dakota).

 

We had intended to hold off until our NEW website was launched so we could display it in a much cooler way, but it will be a few weeks before the new site is open to the public, so I’ve asked our website administrators to go ahead and post the information on the current site. Please give them a day or so to get that accomplished.

 

SKP Hugs,

Cathie Carr

Escapees Club President

 

 

Excellent guide!

 

Thank you for sharing ahead of time.

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I ve been looking forward to come on board for some time now ,again .I was registered with Escapees a few years ago before getting sick .First off,a great and family business with people that truly do care for its members.

I was with another "mail forwarding" company located in box Elder also but couldn't wait to make the switch back to escapees. The savings of insurance and registration in SD is unbelievable compared to the west coast .

Now the weather is clearing,I would like to stop by the office in Box elder and sign up ,go to DMV and provide them my "NEW" address.Can anyone provide the address?I have a difficult time filling out paperwork post stroke .Concentration .Thank you in advance.

 

Thank you so much for the nice comments—we appreciate your support very much! Please give “Sherri” a call at 888-757-2582 and she will personally help you.

 

Hugs,

Cathie

Cathie

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I fully understand why Escapees does not provide legal advice regarding domicile issues. If you provide legal advice

to others and you are not a lawyer there can be liability on your part. Please read the Escapees article on the issue and you will be better informed.

Good Luck

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Everyone should definitely read the above link by Cathie. It compares all three states on what to do for domicile. It's excellent!!

 

Thank you! We also want to let you know that we have added more information and resources to the domicile section of our current website, non-members can go to www.escapees.com and select the domicile button there. As I mentioned in an earlier post, this material will be presented in a much nicer format once we get the NEW website launched, but because that will be several weeks away, we didn't want you to have to wait.

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Wow! Thanks to everyone for all of the response.

The link Cathie Carr posted was exactly the kind of guidance I was looking for. Thank you Cathy!

Kirk, as always, you are thefirst to jump in and try to help and I want to thank you for that.

Teresa, your kind offer of personal assistance is going above and beyond expectations and I appreciate that. Since Cathy's link gave me what I need, i won't bother you with a phone call unless I get "stuck".

You have all confirmed why I joined Escapees in the first place! Now I have to dig in and figure out the best move for us. So much to consider with RV insurance, health insurance,( we are both under Medicare age), state taxes, registration cost - it goes on and on but we will get there!

Thanks again everyone. Hope you all have a great day!

 

Bill

2010 Tiffin Allegro Bus

2012 Honda CRV

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  • 1 month later...

We have been thinking about switching over to Florida for domicile. I know there are no state income taxes but are there any other sneaky taxes that Florida collects? I remember talking with someone years ago when we went full-time and them complaining about an intangibles tax on investment portfolios (IRA's included). Is that still the case?

 

Gary T

56944

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We have been thinking about switching over to Florida for domicile. I know there are no state income taxes but are there any other sneaky taxes that Florida collects? I remember talking with someone years ago when we went full-time and them complaining about an intangibles tax on investment portfolios (IRA's included). Is that still the case?

 

Gary T

56944

 

SOURCE: http://www.retirementliving.com/taxes-alabama-iowa#FLORIDA

FLORIDA Sales Taxes

State Sales Tax: 6% (food, prescription and non-prescription drugs exempt). There are additional county sales taxes which could make the combined rate as high as 9.5%.

Gasoline Tax: 54.82 cents/gallon (Includes all taxes)

Diesel Fuel Tax: 58.09 cents/gallon (Includes all taxes)

Cigarette Tax: $1.34/pack of 20

Personal Income Taxes

No state income tax

Retirement Income: Not taxed.

Property Taxes

All property is taxable at 100% of its just valuation. Every person who owns and resides on real property in Florida on January 1 and makes the property their permanent residence is eligible to receive a homestead exemption up to $50,000. The first $25,000 applies to all property taxes, including school district taxes. The additional exemption up to $25,000, applies to the assessed value between $50,000 and $75,000 and only to nonschool taxes. If one spouse holds the title, the other spouse may file for the exemption with the consent of the titleholder.

Below is a general list of exemptions available in the state.

The homestead exemption for all residents applies to all property taxes, not just city and county taxes. Annual increases in the assessment of homestead property are limited to 3% of the prior year’s assessed value, or if lower, the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for the prior year, as long as there was no change in ownership.

For more details on property taxes, click here, then find the link for the county property appraiser for the county in question. For more information on Florida property tax exemptions, click here.

Inheritance and Estate Taxes

There is no inheritance tax and only a limited estate tax.

To review information for new residents, click here.

For general information on Florida taxes, visit the Florida Department of Revenue site or call 800-352-3671 FREE.

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