January 24th, 2009
I get a lot of questions via email about the definition of a “dependent” for Navy Recruiting determination of an applicants qualification for service. The below information is taken from the recruiting manual. Keep in mind the definition does not apply to entitlement of military pay and allowances, medical care, exchange and commissary privileges, or other benefits. Such determinations are made only after enlistment or affiliation and your Recruiter shall not render opinions on future entitlements. A dependent for enlistment and affiliation purposes is defined as any of the following:
- A spouse by marriage, not to include a common law spouse. A spouse is not considered a dependent when the spouse is on active duty or serving as a SELRES in Reserve Component of any service. A spouse in the Individual Ready Reserve is considered a dependent.
- Any natural child (legitimate or illegitimate) or child adopted by the applicant, provided:
- the child is unmarried
- is considered a dependent under the laws of the state having jurisdiction
- the applicant claims the child as theirs
- the applicant’s name is listed on the birth certificate as a parent
- a court order establishes paternity or if any person makes an allegation of paternity that has not been adjudicated by a court.
Update Note (as of 13APR11): Children over the age of 18 that are being claimed as a dependent on the applicant’s income tax return are considered to be a dependent for enlistment or affiliation purposes.
Note: Active Component single applicants, (male and female), who have dependents must have relinquished physical custody of dependents by court order. Absent a court order, a child support order awarded by the state that the child resides in may be used to determine eligibility for enlistment. The court order or child support order (with appropriate official signature) is required prior to processing for enlistment.
- Unborn child(ren). Unmarried applicants who self-admit to being the father of an unborn child(ren) or for whom a positive legal/medical paternity determination has been made are considered to have a dependent(s) for enlistment and affiliation purposes.
- Stepchildren of the applicant.
- Stepchildren of the applicant’s spouse.
- Children from the spouse’s previous marriage that are under the age of 18.
- Any parent or other person who can be claimed as a dependent on the applicant’s income tax return.
WARNING: Relinquishing custody does not terminate dependency. Recruiting personnel are prohibited from having any involvement in your decision to relinquish custody of a minor dependent, or in acting upon this decision. Navy recruiting personnel must not advise, imply, or assist you with regard to the surrender of custody of a minor dependent. If you surrender physical custody of your dependents for personal reasons, the only transfer recognized by the Navy is a valid court order that transfers physical custody and does not show intent to return the custody back to you after a temporary period. Single parents that transfer physical custody of minor dependents must be advised that enlistment processing can not begin until 90 days has elapsed from the date of custody transfer and that they may not retain, nor have the minor dependents reside with them during the term of the first enlistment.
If you have any questions about the information above and for individual determination of your circumstance, see your local Navy Recruiter. Dependency waivers are authorized for eligible applicants.
Read Comments (8)
More Interesting Posts
RSS feed for comments on this post.
Leave a Reply
Hello my name is Kimberly I am looking into join the navy soon but I have a question that I would like answered before. I have a daughter that is 3 and I have heard that you can’t have custody of a dependent when you are joining. My boyfriend and I split about a year and half ago, we have not gone to court to determine anything yet but she does live with me. Do I need to go to court with him to gain full custody in order to give up physical custody or is there some way around this, my aunt has agree to take care of her for as long as need be.