§ 19-2-6.Change of domicile which is dependent on that of another; change of ward’s domicile affecting inheritance
Chapter 2. Domicile · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-2-6
Plain-English Summary
Some people’s domicile is tied by law to another person’s: a minor child’s to a parent, custodian or guardian under § 19-2-4, and an adult ward’s to the guardian under § 19-2-5. This section sets two limits on how those dependent domiciles can change.
Subsection (a) says a person whose domicile for any reason depends on someone else’s cannot change his own domicile. A child or ward who moves somewhere else, or announces a new home, does not thereby acquire a new domicile. The ordinary rule for changing domicile in § 19-2-1(b) — an actual move plus the intention to stay — is available only to a person sui juris, meaning someone legally able to manage their own affairs.
Subsection (b) protects inheritance. A guardian cannot change the ward’s domicile, either by changing the guardian’s own domicile or in any other fashion, so as to interfere with the rules of inheritance or succession, or otherwise to affect the inheritance rights of third persons. Domicile can matter to how property passes at death, and the section keeps a guardian from using the ward’s domicile to steer that outcome. The limit is aimed at inheritance and succession; the section doesn’t otherwise restrict where a guardian may live.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a minor change their own domicile in Georgia?
No. This section says a person whose domicile for any reason depends on someone else’s cannot change his own domicile. Under § 19-2-4, a minor’s domicile depends on the parents, a custodial parent, a legal custodian or a guardian, so the minor cannot change it independently. Where a child has neither a legal custodian nor a guardian, § 19-2-4 determines the child’s domicile as if the child were an adult.
Can a guardian move a ward to change who inherits from the ward?
No. Subsection (b) says a guardian cannot change the ward’s domicile by changing his own domicile, or in any other fashion, so as to interfere with the rules of inheritance or succession, or otherwise to affect the rights of inheritance of third persons. A guardian may move, but the move can’t be used to shift inheritance rights.
Why would domicile affect inheritance?
The law of a person’s domicile can bear on how that person’s property passes at death. This section recognizes that by barring a guardian from changing a ward’s domicile in a way that interferes with the rules of inheritance or succession or affects third persons’ inheritance rights. Relatives who expect to inherit are protected from a change engineered through the guardian.
Does a ward’s domicile ever follow the guardian’s move?
Generally, yes. Under § 19-2-5, an adult under guardianship has the same domicile as the guardian. This section carves out one limit: the guardian’s change cannot operate to interfere with the rules of inheritance or succession or to affect third persons’ inheritance rights.
Can an adult ward announce a new home and change domicile?
No. A ward’s domicile depends on the guardian’s under § 19-2-5, and subsection (a) of this section says a person whose domicile depends on another’s cannot change his own domicile. The usual method of changing domicile in § 19-2-1 — an actual change of residence with the avowed intention of remaining — applies to a person sui juris, not to a ward.
Amendment History
Formerly Code 1863, § 1651; Code 1868, § 1695; Code 1873, § 1696; Code 1882, § 1696; Civil Code 1895, § 1830; Civil Code 1910, § 2187; Code 1933, § 79-407.