Military spouses will now have the chance to choose the same domicile as their servicemember spouses, thanks to the Military Spouse Residency Relief Act passed by the House this week. The Senate had previously passed the measure, and the bill now heads to the President for signature.
The purpose of the bill is to help ease administrative and tax filing challenges associated with relocations, allow spouses to vote in the same state, assist spouses with portable careers, encourage them to put property in their own names and establish credit records, and give military spouses a choice in establishing a home base.
What does this mean in practical terms for the military spouse? If a military spouse chooses to change his/her home of domicile to that of their military spouse’s, the military spouse will no longer have to change their state of residency with each PCS. Prior to the bill’s passage, when a military family PCSd to a new state the non-military spouse was required to obtain a driver’s license in the new state and establish residency. Now the military spouse will be able to establish and maintain the same residency as their military spouse
