Concerns about using relatives' addresses for domicile
mooline said
06:52 PM Sep 13, 2010
Not sure this topic is in the right place, but Howard will move it if need be, I am sure.
There is much talk about which state is best for fulltimers to use as a domicile. I see some folks use relatives' addresses, especially if they live in tax-favored states.
A concern I have with that - maybe unfounded - is the potential for liability exposure should they, or we, have some kind of incident or accident that might lead to a lawsuit. Of course, there may not be actual legal exposure per se but I'd hate to see the relative dragged in and have to defend him/herself. And certainly we'd not want to have to untangle ourselves from something that happend to them.
I know that in some states, vehicle insurance rates go up if "any driver in the household" has had a ticket or accident. Another reason I personally am treading lightly on the "use the relatives' address" matter.
Many of my relatives are from Boston and we all know how they drive... :) (I can say that because I, too am originally from Beantown!) So the risk is real!
Has anyone researched this or are there attorneys in our midst who want to comment?
Am I needlessly concerned or overthinking this?
Luvglass said
08:33 PM Sep 13, 2010
"Am I needlessly concerned or overthinking this?"
IMHO, Yes!
Ckerr said
10:12 PM Sep 13, 2010
In no way is this a legal opinion, only a "common sense" one.
I have to agree with Fred. There are plenty of "roommate" situtatins out there. Just because you share an address, does not mean you are a "household." I can only imagine what would've happened to my insurance rates had that been the case when I was in my 20s!
Check with a lawyer if it will make you feel better, but I'm not too worried about it.
bjoyce said
06:30 AM Sep 14, 2010
We have been using a relative's address for years and have no problems and the relative has the same last name as my wife. We have all of our legal documents at that address, the vehicles are licensed at that address, and we have done jury duty from that address. Luckily the relative is great at mail forwarding. None of our taxes, insurance, credit ratings, or anything else has been mixed up.
One bit of advice is to not try to save postage forwarding one piece of first class mail by changing the address. A friend had the post office automatically create a change of address for her that took a while to straighten out.
Obviously you are going to use a relative somewhere other than Boston if you care about taxes.
fleamarketeer said
02:02 AM Sep 15, 2010
mooline,
Usually IF there is a vehicle insurance issue about someone being a member or your/their household, the company will want to add them to the policy or ask one or both parties to fill out a form stating that they will not be driving the others vehicle. It only takes 30 seconds and a postage stamp to fix, but insurance companies seem to be getting more strict about this sort of thing.
If your insurance company knows you are full timing it shouldn't be an issue for you. If your relative's insurance company has a problem; just return the form when they bring it up. But then don't borrow a car from them because you will not be insured.
Bob
Howard said
09:21 AM Sep 16, 2010
I don't think you are "needlessly" concerned because the worst-case scenario you envision really could happen. Lawyers sue everybody they think might be able to pay, and then sort it out later. Extricating yourself, even with no liability exposure, can be a pain and a little scary.
But, with that said, you might be "overly" concerned as the probabilities of that happening aren't great.
If we all took all the precautions against all the things that could happen, we would all be paralyzed. There are risks for everything, but this would be on the low end of the scale of worries (assuming the relatives aren't involved in criminal behavior that you know about).
P.S. We have our domicile address with a good friend. One day a sheriff showed up at their doorstep with a summons ... for me. It was a bit disconcerting for them. As a former real estate attorney, I dealt with thousands of real estate transactions each year, so my exposure to lawsuits is a bit higher than most. It turned out to be nothing, but it does show that your concerns are not completely unfounded. I still wouldn't worry about it, but thanks for bringing it up. There are some relatives that we all have where this could be a bit more risky.
jagco said
09:53 AM Sep 16, 2010
Ckerr wrote:
In no way is this a legal opinion, only a "common sense" one.
Who ever said our legal system had anything to do with common sense anyway?
There is much talk about which state is best for fulltimers to use as a domicile. I see some folks use relatives' addresses, especially if they live in tax-favored states.
A concern I have with that - maybe unfounded - is the potential for liability exposure should they, or we, have some kind of incident or accident that might lead to a lawsuit. Of course, there may not be actual legal exposure per se but I'd hate to see the relative dragged in and have to defend him/herself. And certainly we'd not want to have to untangle ourselves from something that happend to them.
I know that in some states, vehicle insurance rates go up if "any driver in the household" has had a ticket or accident. Another reason I personally am treading lightly on the "use the relatives' address" matter.
Many of my relatives are from Boston and we all know how they drive... :)
(I can say that because I, too am originally from Beantown!) So the risk is real!
Has anyone researched this or are there attorneys in our midst who want to comment?
Am I needlessly concerned or overthinking this?
Usually IF there is a vehicle insurance issue about someone being a member or your/their household, the company will want to add them to the policy or ask one or both parties to fill out a form stating that they will not be driving the others vehicle. It only takes 30 seconds and a postage stamp to fix, but insurance companies seem to be getting more strict about this sort of thing.
If your insurance company knows you are full timing it shouldn't be an issue for you. If your relative's insurance company has a problem; just return the form when they bring it up. But then don't borrow a car from them because you will not be insured.
Bob
I don't think you are "needlessly" concerned because the worst-case scenario you envision really could happen. Lawyers sue everybody they think might be able to pay, and then sort it out later. Extricating yourself, even with no liability exposure, can be a pain and a little scary.
But, with that said, you might be "overly" concerned as the probabilities of that happening aren't great.
If we all took all the precautions against all the things that could happen, we would all be paralyzed. There are risks for everything, but this would be on the low end of the scale of worries (assuming the relatives aren't involved in criminal behavior that you know about).
P.S. We have our domicile address with a good friend. One day a sheriff showed up at their doorstep with a summons ... for me. It was a bit disconcerting for them. As a former real estate attorney, I dealt with thousands of real estate transactions each year, so my exposure to lawsuits is a bit higher than most. It turned out to be nothing, but it does show that your concerns are not completely unfounded. I still wouldn't worry about it, but thanks for bringing it up. There are some relatives that we all have where this could be a bit more risky.
Who ever said our legal system had anything to do with common sense anyway?