Key West Legal

There were several things we wanted to accomplish during our holiday trip and one was to 'get legal' in KW and Florida. There are several significant financial advantages to doing this and we wanted to get this done as close to January 1 as possbile. As it turned out, it's quite a process you have to go through. Our first step was to file for Florida domicile. So, we got ready to head out on  Monday morning only to find that one of the bikes had a flat tire. So, it had to go "Trek Hospital" before we could get started.

But, Neal fixed it all up and we were off before you know it!

We printed off a sample domicile declaration from the county web site and went to get it notorized.  The declaration states that we now intend to become Key West residents.  After getting the declaration notarized at our insurance agent, we headed over to the Clerk of Courts to file it.  Step one complete!

Next, we wanted to register the Mercedes Benz in Florida so we could have a Florida plate on the car when we drive it down later this year. However,  before we could do that, we needed to transfer the insurance coverage from Massachusetts to Florida.  Before we could do that, we wanted to get Florida driver's licenses. This was the most challenging thing because we thought we could keep our MA licenses and also have FL licenses. But, that provision in the FL law changed in November. What we learned was that to get a FL license, we'd have to surrender our MA license. We had not been expecting this and actually stopped the process for the day so we could carefully consider what that might mean. We talked to Kent &  Mary and Phil & Anne. They have all done this and were able to get us comfortable with it. So, the next day we went back to the DMV and got our new Florida licenses.

So back to the DMV

Out with the old.....

.......in with the new.

With our New Florida licenses in hand, we were ready to get the Mercedes registered in Florida. So, our next stop was at the insurance company to get a binder.

With insurance binder, new Florida licenses, old MA title, and mileage certification (thanks, Steve!) in hand we headed over to the County offices to register the car. We were succesful and got our new FL license plate.

Neal and I consider ourselves very fortunate to be able to do all this at what is really a relatively young age. There are many people who helped contribute to our success. Like many Fidelity employees, we have frequently said 'thanks' to Uncle Ned over years. We didn't order a vanity plate in KW but how weird is the license plate they assigned to us for our KW car?

We're almost done getting KW legal. The next step was to file for Homestead in Florida. After all, the tax benefit of homesteading is one reason for becoming a Florida residence. So, we climbed back on our bikes and headed back to the Monroe County Court House where we completed that filing.

The last thing we did was to stop at the Truman Annex building at the entrance by the fountain to get our Resident parking sticker for Porter Court!! For the last 10 years, we've had to stop at the guardhouse on Southard, get a temporary pass, and keep it displayed on the dashboard of a rented car. Not anymore!  Now we have a Resident Parking Sticker for the windshield of our own car.

It had been long couple of days with a lot of bike riding back and forth and all around the island. But, it was all worth it. And when we were all done, we stopped at Grand Vin and sat on the front porch where the sun was shining and the sky was blue. We had a glass of red wine and toasted the day!

We are looking so forward to being able to get away for the winter, watch the Minimal Regatta in May, go to Hemingway Days in July and celebrate Fantesy Fest in October!