Benefits of Florida Domicile
Florida continues to be a state that people want to move to because of its sunny climate, beaches, outdoor activities, retirement options, low taxes, and business opportunities. The benefits of establishing your Florida domicile are many.
What is Domicile?
In the normal vernacular, a person’s domicile is the place where they live, where their home is. But legally your domicile has certain important implications for you. For instance, it is tied to citizenship, voting rights, and taxes. In a strictly legal sense, the domicile of a person is where they have their true, fixed, permanent home and principal establishment, and to which, whenever absent, they have the intention of returning. Depending on the state where you have established domicile, you have the benefits or drawbacks of that particular state.
Benefits of Being a Florida Resident
As mentioned earlier, there are many benefits to Florida Domicile. We cannot list every advantage but here are some major ones you may or may not know:
- There is no state income tax.
- There is no state inheritance or estate tax which is very important when you are creating or updating your estate plan.
- The state’s Homestead Protection provides protection from creditors on homestead property (except mortgage holders, mechanic’s liens, and taxes). In simple terms, a creditor cannot force the sale of a person’s homestead to satisfy a judgment.
- At the homeowner’s death, homestead property passes to beneficiaries clear of certain creditor claims if bequeathed to heirs.
- During the homeowner’s lifetime, the homestead may not be attached for forced sale by certain creditors.
- There’s a real estate tax exemption of $50,000 annually.
- Through Florida’s Save Our Homes Cap property assessment increases are limited to 3% annually.
- The homestead exemption is portable, meaning Florida homeowners who move from one homestead property to another in Florida have the advantage of transferring their accumulated savings from their previous home to their new home.
Nici Law Can Help You Make Florida Your Home
Based in Naples and headed up by attorney James Nici, Nici Law Firm can help you with the steps to properly set up your Florida domicile so you can take advantage of the positive effects that a domicile provides. We can answer questions about Homestead protection, tax advantages, and estate plans with Florida domicile in mind. As a Florida Domicile lawyer, James Nici brings his many years of experience and his knowledge of Florida laws to help you.
We are also able to help with setting up a business in Florida. We also provide service in the practice areas of estate planning, estate administration, probate, and asset protection.
Nici Law Firm serves clients in the towns of southwest Florida: Naples, Bonita Springs, Marco Island, Ave Maria, Immokalee, Estero, Fort Myers, Cape Coral, and Sanibel.
Contact us and see how we can be of assistance to you and your family. Make Florida your home!