Orders that send you somewhere do not change your domicile, because you did not choose to go.
The Rule
In Kean v. Marshall, 294 Ga. App. 459 (2008), the Court of Appeals restated a rule Georgia has followed for decades: “[a] person’s domicile is not changed merely by his enlistment in the army, and his transfer or assignment by military order to another jurisdiction.”
That protects a service member in both directions. Time spent at a duty station in another state does not strip away a Georgia domicile, and time spent at a Georgia installation does not by itself create one.
Home of Record Is Not Domicile
Crittenden v. Crittenden, 354 Ga. App. 672 (2020), is the cautionary case. A service member stationed in Japan filed for divorce in Cherokee County, saying he had lived in his parents’ home there until he joined the military and had never established any other residence. He had listed Georgia as his home of record and had filed taxes in Georgia.
The Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of his case. He “has not identified, let alone cited any evidence in the record showing that home or any other place to be a single fixed place of abode in Georgia where he intends to remain indefinitely or return to after residing elsewhere.” His tax returns showed only an overseas post office box.
You Can Still Choose Georgia
Nothing about being in uniform locks your domicile in place. In Kendrick v. Parker, 258 Ga. 210 (1988), the Georgia Supreme Court held that residing in Georgia under military orders does not prevent a service member from electing to become a resident, quoting an older case: “It is as competent for a soldier to abandon his domicile or residence and acquire a new one as it is for any other citizen to do so.”
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This post is a quick overview of the law and is not intended as legal advice. Please feel free to contact our office for a consultation if you have questions about this or any other legal aspects regarding your case!