The issue of a person’s legal place of residence has significance in matrimonial proceedings and other legal matters affecting where you can sue or be sued or where you must pay taxes among others. Legal residence is primarily a function of intent.
To put it simply, your place of residence is where you intend it to be. When an issue arises such as residence for legal purposes, there are various factors that courts or other governmental agencies look at to determine your place of residence. Included in these factors are: where do you vote; what jurisdiction issued your driver’s license; where are your bank accounts; where do you or your children attend school; where do you own property; how much time do you spend in one state or another; where is your investment advisor; your doctor; your dentist?
The above tests help determine if your actual residence matches your declared intention. In some situations in New York, a bright line test is used. In determining if you are a NY residence for income or estate tax purposes , the Dept. of Taxation and Finance looks at the above factors, but if you spend too much time in the state, these factors make no difference. The same holds true for New York City income taxes.
Duration of residence is also important. In New York, a minimum of one years residence is necessary before commencing an action for divorce. For active duty military and their families, the state of legal residence is their declared “home of record.” This can be the state from which the serving member entered the service, or any other state in which they were, for a time, stationed. The home of record remains their state of legal residence until they declare an intention to establish legal residence elsewhere. This is true even if they are absent fro the state of declared residence for months or even years.