[ivanhoe]

My wife an I may just have sold our condo here in NY and may be headed your way in January...well that only took 4 years!

The timing is not good.

Although we have friends in TV who will put us up for a few months while we "shop" for a permanent residence we are going to go through a healthcare event.

I will be ending my coverage with my company and going to Medicare. This will leave my wife out to purchase healthcare for about 11 months until she reaches 65. She will need to purchase Florida healthcare.

All this happens on April 30, 2013!

How will we establish legal residency in Florida in that short timeframe while staying at a friends home?

Thanks for your help in advance.

[hotrodgirl]

She may have to Cobra if possible as I believe one needs a permanent address to establish residence? Perhaps someone else has more info on this as I am not there quite yet and have not closed on my property.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by hotrodgirl

She may have to Cobra if possible as I believe one needs a permanent address to establish residence? Perhaps someone else has more info on this as I am not there quite yet and have not closed on my property.

But...many people who don't own property must have established residences....wonder how that works.

[jane032657]

We just went through figuring out healthcare as I am 55 and my husband is 61. Just as we were about to sign up for coverage, I found out my organization had COBRA which we did not know, the agency met the threshold last year. Having said this, I will tell you that it was no easy task trying to buy private health care insurance in Florida as there are forms, questions, telephone interview with nurses, and as my husband takes some prescriptions for a few things like being pre-diabetic, they rate you very highly and are vigilant about recording every medical incident in your life. I was rated the regular rate and they doubled his and then there are parameters of pre existing conditions. Very different than in Washington State where you can get insurance with no attention to pre-existing. With the Cobra, it is easy, you just sign up and need an address in Florida. We own a home but I am sure you can use someone else's until you are settled. what is the difference between that and renting, you would use your rental address. That is our very recent experience, like last week....We do have the name of an agent if you would like it, he is not in The Villages but I think in Orlando and is a relative of my husband's staff person so we trusted his advise. You can PM me if you want his name, etc.

[uujudy]

Originally Posted by ivanhoe

. . .
How will we establish legal residency in Florida in that short timeframe while staying at a friends home?

Thanks for your help in advance.

I believe you will also need to get a Florida driver's license, register your car & register to vote to be legal Florida residents. I don't know how you do this with a temporary residence, but I'm sure someone on this forum will know. Good luck!

[downeaster]

Originally Posted by ivanhoe

My wife an I may just have sold our condo here in NY and may be headed your way in January...well that only took 4 years!

The timing is not good.

Although we have friends in TV who will put us up for a few months while we "shop" for a permanent residence we are going to go through a healthcare event.

I will be ending my coverage with my company and going to Medicare. This will leave my wife out to purchase healthcare for about 11 months until she reaches 65. She will need to purchase Florida healthcare.

All this happens on April 30, 2013!

How will we establish legal residency in Florida in that short timeframe while staying at a friends home?

Thanks for your help in advance.

You can purchase a "Florida Residency Guide" at this site: State of Florida.com - Florida Residency Guide.

Here is another helpful site: 6 Tips on How to Become a Florida Resident - wikiHow.

As you can see, there is no simple answer.

As too insurance, I would check with insurers in Florida.

Hope this helps.

[ivanhoe]

Now, on further investigation, the organization handling my COBRA account states that once I reach 65 and move to Medicare the spouse will start her own account and be able to continue for the duration of the COBRA period.
That, if correct, will give us another 6 months on COBRA and we should be well established by then.

Guess I hit the panic button...yet again and don' t you think it funny that I come here when I do!!

Thanks for you help...I only had the Vodka bottle half open..

[Vinny]

Originally Posted by uujudy

I believe you will also need to get a Florida driver's license, register your car & register to vote to be legal Florida residents. I don't know how you do this with a temporary residence, but I'm sure someone on this forum will know. Good luck!

You do not have to drive or vote to be a resident. Just need to show you reside here. Have your friends give you a lease or rental agreement to show you are living here. I lived with my in-laws and used their address and got health insurance here. The policy had a definition of residency which I met as I owned no other home and could prove I lived in Florida. It was a non issue for me. The $17K insurance premium was another matter.

[CaptJohn]

I was just reading this morning on obtaining a Florida driver's license. It mentioned you need 2 forms of proof for residence, like electric bill, water bill, lease, deed, etc.

[ivanhoe]

Right CaptJohn they said that one form would be my NY drivers license and I was wondering about the other since I was not going to be renting or owning for a time.

FYI my wife called BCBS of Florida and the agent actually said that they required NO PROOF of residency for an individual purchasing a new policy... can you believe that!

[Madelaine Amee]

Originally Posted by ivanhoe

Right CaptJohn they said that one form would be my NY drivers license and I was wondering about the other since I was not going to be renting or owning for a time.

I'm a Florida resident and I just renewed my license. I had to have proof of identity, I used my passport/two utility bills and I needed another proof of identity. I had my existing Florida driver's license and found my voter registration in my wallet. I thought they were going to ask for my first born ....................

They have tightened the requirements since we moved here.