I wanted to put this info in it's own post incase some foster parent was trying to google it.So, after reading all of this I called my agency. I told them the info they sent out basically made it sound like we could not write of our foster children who had been with us over 6 months out of the tax year and that that was incorrect.
You should have heard how fast this lady back pedaled. She said, "Oh, I will have to look at that because it is supposed to say you can."
It does not say that at ALL.
I am not unable to read. I have gotten the same paper for the last three years and it says the same thing "that there may be special circumstances when a foster parent can write off their child". They make it sound like it is a rare thing.
She assured me that yes, we are totally allowed to write off the kids on our taxes for all the reasons listed above.
Seriously, I think they just don't want to deal with foster parents claiming the kids AND bio parents claiming the kids that SHOULD NOT BE CLAIMING the kids and the paper work that they would need to find to help the foster parent prove their case.
These people are just so helpful :/
In other news...I am now trying to hunt down Lizzy's birth certificate and social security number. I know I at least need the birth certificate for pre school. I can't believe that I have had her this long and still don't have that stuff.
11 comments:
If you know the parents names and the place she was born. You can order one online for $10.
thank you, i was wondering if that was real when i found a site on google. now i am wondering how hard it will be to find her ss#
Will the case manager not give you her ss#? I have always been given the SS#'s as soon as the case manager has it. They should also have a copy of her birth certificate.
you would think so, i put in a call, but i am not sure that they even have it
I make sure I get the SSN at the time of placement. I guess I've been lucky. I've gotten a copy (CPS keeps the original) with every kid.
We have to have copies of birth certificates in order to get kids enrolled in school. I usually get a copy of the BC at placement too. Now, they couldn't find Dude's when he came. And he's too young for school so I never fought for it.
In your case though, your worker should be required to get those items for you!! Best of luck!!!
Will be interested in hearing how your SS # search goes. We used to get SS# at placement,but for the last few years they have been withheld.
If the case manager does not have the SS#, they should be requesting a card from the SSA. You will need that at the time of adoption.
If you don't have the SS# and it is time to file taxes, file without claiming L as dependent and then amend your return afterwards. It's not hard.
If her medical care is covered by the state then her SSN should be on file with the state insurance or with her pediatrician's office. If your ever-helpful agency can't fine it in their office, suggest they lookup health records ;)
Oh the ever-helpful agency or at least DHS has it. I am believing that possibly our state policies have changed and they stopped giving them out.
Not sure why one would be needed in our state to do an adoption. And after the adoption new cards are filed for under their new name with no link to their old number or name. We have done this 3 times in this state.
we were always told we could not claim our kids as dependents until they were adopted. bummer.
we were never allowed to have their birth certs either... the social worker had to "get them in" for us.
You should be able to enroll her in preschool without the birth certificate. DHS is supposed to give you a letter stating that the child is a ward of the state & she is allowed to be enrolled in school without the normal paperwork. I received one of those from Macomb County DHS (in fact that was about the only official piece of paper I had for about a year).
I never received an official copy of Mia's birth certificate. We got a copy after a year of me asking. As far as the SS# - I was given a hand-written number from her caseworker. They never gave me even a copy of the original. We claimed her on our taxes every year without any problem. Once her adoption was finalized, we applied for her SS card with her name. We did go down to the SS office & talk to someone about her number. We were going to ask that her number be changed - just in case birth parents or who knows who had received it, but they were able to look her information up & tell us that no activity had taken place with her SS#, so we kept the number the same as what was issued originally. Oh, & another tidbit of information that we didn't know - but the SS office told us that she will always have an alias - since she was adopted.
BTW - we let our license go. In 3 years we received 4 calls. Apparently, there just aren't very many children in need of foster care in this county. (this is being said sarcastically). :)
Post a Comment