Legal Definitions - Residence

Residence refers to the actual physical location where a person lives, either currently or for a specific period. It focuses on the place of dwelling, which can be distinct from a person's domicile, which is their permanent legal home. The concept of residence is often used in law to determine eligibility for certain rights, benefits, or obligations, frequently requiring an individual to have lived in a particular area for a defined length of time.

• Voting Eligibility: A college student attends a university in a different state from where their parents live. For the four years they are enrolled, they rent an apartment near campus and spend most of their time there.
  This student's residence for voting purposes would typically be the state where they attend university and physically live, provided they meet that state's residency duration requirements. Even if their parents' home remains their permanent legal domicile, their actual dwelling place for an extended period establishes their residence for specific legal functions.
• In-State Tuition: A family moves from California to Texas for a new job opportunity. Their children wish to attend a public university in Texas. To qualify for the lower in-state tuition rates, the family must live in Texas for a continuous period, often 12 months, before the children can be considered residents for tuition purposes.
  Here, the family's physical presence and duration of living in Texas establish their residence for the specific benefit of in-state tuition. The state defines the required length of time to be considered a resident for this privilege.
• Temporary Work Assignment: An engineer owns a house in Chicago but accepts a one-year contract to work on a project in Seattle. For that year, they rent an apartment in Seattle and live there, returning to Chicago only for occasional weekends or holidays.
  While the engineer's domicile might remain their house in Chicago, the apartment in Seattle where they physically live for the duration of their work assignment constitutes their residence for that period. This distinction can be relevant for local tax obligations or eligibility for certain local services in Seattle.