Domicile

Domicile, in law, legal residence of a person. Although generally understood as synonymous with home or place of abode, in the strict legal sense the term domicile denotes the place that the law will hold to be a person's residence. This may or may not be the place where the person usually resides. Modern law requires that every person have a definite location in some jurisdiction to which his or her legal rights and obligations may be referred and by which his or her legal status, public and private, is subsequently determined.

Three kinds of domicile are now generally recognized: domicile by birth, by choice, and by operation of the law. The first is determined by place of birth. The second is acquired by individual volition; it excludes mental incompetents because it requires intent to make the selected place one's domicile. An example of the third is the domicile of a wife, traditionally acquired at the time of marriage and that of her husband for as long as she lives with him. Children have the domiciles of one or both parents. When the father of a family dies, the domicile of his wife and children traditionally continues to be his last residence until a new residence is acquired. In many jurisdictions, however, traditional rules of domicile are undergoing renewed consideration as societal views of family relationships continue to modify. With regard to private rights and obligations, the general rule holds that the law of the place of domicile governs in contracts relating to personal property and in wills and bankruptcy; in matters relating to real estate, the law of the place of its situation (lex rei situs) prevails.