DOMICILE is the permanent, fixed home of a person, with no present intention of remov ing therefrom. A person traveling from one city, State, or country into another does not change his domicile and create a new one at every place he stops, but the place to which he intends to return and reside permanently is his domicile. Generally speaking, a person can have but one domicile at one time : but for different purposes, he may have more than one domicile at, one time. Some things for which it is neces sary to have a domicile are: administration of a person's estate, jurisdiction, taxation and home stead exemptions. Some countries of Continen tal Europe ignore domicile altogether, basing their rules of law as to personal status upon na tionality alone. In America, the place at which a person exercises his political rights and privileges, and which he calls his home, is con sidered his domicile. The two things necessary to a domicile are an actual residence and a present intention of remaining there.
The place of birth is a person's original domicile, unless his parents were on a journey at the time, in which case their home is the domicile of birth. This domicile may be aban doned for another, of one's own choice. When the domicile of choice is abandoned the domicile of origin revives until a fresh domicile is again selected. After a person has once acquired an actual domicile, he does not lose it by a tem porary absence, no matter how long it is con tinued, if he intends to return; and in cases where a person changes his domicile he does not lose the old place of domicile, until he has W actually acquired the new one. hile the in tention of the person enters into the question of domicile, it is not a controlling feature; and in a change of domicile the intention must be by some act, such as exercising a political right, engaging in business, paying taxes, and executing a will, according to the laws of the place; all of which are evidence of the intention to create a new domicile. When persons are married, the wife acquires the domi cile of her husband; and all children born ac quire the domicile their father had at the time of their birth. If a widow with minor children marries, the domicile of the children is not changed until there is an actual removal. Il legitimate and posthumous children acquire the domicile of their mother in most jurisdictions.
A person absent from home on the service of his government, such as an ambassador, con sul, soldier or sailor, does not change his domi cile; unless, after the service is finished, he con tinues to reside at that place. A convict or
prisoner, a person attending a college or uni versity, does not change his domicile. In case of war it is held that the property of an alien domiciled in a country at war with his own is liable to confiscation as that of an alien enemy. A person may acquire a commercial domicile in a place different from that in which he lives. When a person goes to a foreign country and engages in business there, he is considered a merchant of that country; and it makes no dif ference what the relations of the government of the countries are with one another.
The domicile of a sailor is where he volun tarily spends most of his time when on shore. A man may become a subject of a new country without losing his domicile in the old.
A guardian cannot change his ward's domi cile from one country or State to another; and it is doubtful even if he can change the domicile from one county to another in the same State. The nature and purpose of the appointment of a guardian may, however, change the general rule. The appointment of a guardian will not prevent the ward from changing his domicile.. The question of domicile is important in the case of marriage contracts. Whether or not two per sons have the capacity to marry depends on the rules of the law of their domicile; but whether the marriage has been validly contracted, on the rules of the law of the place where the cere mony was performed; but generally speaking, a marriage validly entered into according to the laws of the place where it is contracted is valid anywhere. Although the domicile of the wife is considered as that of the husband, yet in ac tions for divorce, a husband, after giving his wife a cause for divorce, cannot acquire another domicile so as to deprive her of that right. In wills, the law of the domicile of the testator governs as to the validity of the execution and the distribution of personal property; but as to real estate, if it is to pass under the will, the testator must execute the will according to the laws of the place where the property is situated. Corporations are considered as domiciled in the country or State from which they have derived their charters. Consult Bentwich, 'Law of Domicile in its Relation to Succession' (Lon don 1911)•, Dicey, 'Law of Domicile> (ib. 1879); and 'Conflict of Laws> (ib. 1896); Jacobs, (Treatise on the Law of Domicile> (Boston 1912).