What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Indiana
My grandson lives with me and has for the past year. He has lived with me on and off for the past 6 years but continually since last January. His dad is the payee for his social security benefits. Because the dad is low income, the boy is on medicaid and as a result, his health care options are sometimes limited. There have also been occasions when the father has failed to pay the premium for the health insurance and as a result, he boy was without coverage for a period of time. He is an active teenager and needs good health coverage. I am a federal retiree and have federal health insurance. The boy's older brothers also lived with me but the dad did not provide the health insurance and as a result, I was able to claim them as dependents and I was able to get them on my insurance. I provide almost 100% of the support of the child, make sure he gets to school, etc. According to the federal rules, if I certify that I am living in a parent-child relationship with this grandson, I can put him on my health insurance. Dad said he would really like to have me put the boy on my insurance and would be willing to pay part of the premium (which is not necessary as I already pay for the family plan) but is concerned that by doing so, he will jeopardize the payment of the Social Security that comes to him as the payee for the boy. He depends on this income to pay some of his bills and while in a year the money will go directly to the boy anyway, he does provide some support for the boy periodically and the boy occasionally spends the night with him. The Dad said he has to sign a paper every year certifying that the boy lives with him and he is using the $$ for the boy's support, which technically I suppose he is, though I provide the "parenting". . Does anyone know if I claim the boy as a dependent and put him on my health insurance, will this jeopardize the Dad as the payee and get him in trouble? Is there any workaround? I do not want the social security payment to come to me nor the boy at this time, I simply want to be able to provide good health coverage for him. I pay family rates anyway and his older brother, who also lives with me, is on my plan.
My grandson lives with me and has for the past year. He has lived with me on and off for the past 6 years but continually since last January. His dad is the payee for his social security benefits. Because the dad is low income, the boy is on medicaid and as a result, his health care options are sometimes limited. There have also been occasions when the father has failed to pay the premium for the health insurance and as a result, he boy was without coverage for a period of time. He is an active teenager and needs good health coverage. I am a federal retiree and have federal health insurance. The boy's older brothers also lived with me but the dad did not provide the health insurance and as a result, I was able to claim them as dependents and I was able to get them on my insurance. I provide almost 100% of the support of the child, make sure he gets to school, etc. According to the federal rules, if I certify that I am living in a parent-child relationship with this grandson, I can put him on my health insurance. Dad said he would really like to have me put the boy on my insurance and would be willing to pay part of the premium (which is not necessary as I already pay for the family plan) but is concerned that by doing so, he will jeopardize the payment of the Social Security that comes to him as the payee for the boy. He depends on this income to pay some of his bills and while in a year the money will go directly to the boy anyway, he does provide some support for the boy periodically and the boy occasionally spends the night with him. The Dad said he has to sign a paper every year certifying that the boy lives with him and he is using the $$ for the boy's support, which technically I suppose he is, though I provide the "parenting". . Does anyone know if I claim the boy as a dependent and put him on my health insurance, will this jeopardize the Dad as the payee and get him in trouble? Is there any workaround? I do not want the social security payment to come to me nor the boy at this time, I simply want to be able to provide good health coverage for him. I pay family rates anyway and his older brother, who also lives with me, is on my plan.