Legal Question in Family Law in Virginia
my sister is disabled and is trying to qualify for social security disability. as of july 31, 2009 she is without health insurance. we live together and because she has no income i am providing/ caring for her. i have asking my health insurance if i could add her to my policy. the term legal dependant was used. how do i go about making my sister my legal dependant. i didn't not claim her on my 2008 taxes but will claim her at the end of 2009. is there a form that i need to complete. if she does quailfy for social security and is my dependant will i have to use (submit) her income as my own when i file my 2009 tax return.
beth
1 Answer from Attorneys
It would seem that you probably need to clarify with your health insurance provider what they mean by the term "legal dependent" which may have more than one definition/interpretation, depending upon the context of its use and the pupose for which it is used. For example, claiming a person as a dependent on your 2009 federal tax return according to IRS rules is not likely to establish the kind of legal dependency status that would be conferred by a court of proper jurisidiction awarding you guardianship over your sister and which is what your insurance provider may have in mind with respect to its use of this term legal dependent.
If your sister does qualify for social security disability payments, it would be unlikely that you would be reporting this income as your own on your 2009 federal tax return, and, furthermore, if this income is sufficiently high, she may be disqualifed as your dependent for tax purposes.
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