Number of people in household

[imbarbara6]

My daughter of 28 years and her 4 year old son have been living with us for over a year and there is no end in sight. She works but does not contribute any money towards household expenses. We purchase all the food, which her and her son eat, we pay all the utilities which they also use and we pay the mortgage which shelters her and her son as well. She pays nothing for rent.
Does anyone know if we are allowed to claim them both as part of our household on the means test to help us qualify for Chapter 7 ?

Thanks!

[JoeBankrupt33]

Generally, they need to be considered a dependent according to IRS standards, but there has been case law in different states that affects this too.

So, first I would see if they qualify as dependents. For you daughter to be a dependent, she needs to have earned less than $3500 in 2008 and you need to have provided over half of her support. For your grandson, he needed to live with you for more than half the year and you provide more than half his support.

[hurtininaz]

I pay 1/2 support for all three of my daughters - who live with me half time. Anyone have experience with this type of situation?

[hurtininaz]

Sorry, I double posted and can't figure out how to delete....newbie!

[kathy4530050]

I have consulted with 3 lawyers on this very question and got 3 different responses. I have 2 sons in college, one of whom lives with me full-time and goes to community college, and the other goes to school out of state and lives with me whenever he is on break. I take care of all of the living expenses of the son who lives with me, and contribute to the living expenses of the son who is out of state. Their father pays their tuition (we're divorced), and they both have part-time jobs for their own spending money. I claim both of them as my dependents. Here's what I was told:

Lawyer #1: I cannot add either one to my household as both are over 18 years of age. Dependency status doesn't matter.

Lawyer #2: I can add the one who lives with me because he is my dependent, he is a full-time student, and he does not contribute to the family income.

Lawyer #3: I can add both to my household size because both are my dependents, both are full-time students, neither contribute to the family income, and my son who is out of state during the academic year comes home for a month at Christmas, a week at both Thanksgiving and Easter, and 4 months during the spring/summer. His living situation at school is temporary--a dorm is not a household. The household he belongs to is mine.

So, you can guess which lawyer I like best. Lawyer #1 is the youngest and I trust him the least. Lawyer #3 is the oldest and the most expensive and was recommended to me by another lawyer who said that if he were going through bk, he would choose this guy to represent him.

Lawyer #3 said that this whole area is subject to interpretation and an argument could be made for many non-traditional living arrangements.

So . . . it seems that we need the lawyer who understands our situation, has a good relationship with (and understanding of) the trustees, and is confident that he/she can successfully represent us.

[imbarbara6]

Thanks for the responses. My daughter is also a full time student but works as well. She earns over $3500 a year. I hope there will be some sort of allowance but I'm not keeping my fingers crossed.