So I am applying for Title 19 and WICC, and I was told that if I put down my boyfriend's last name as my daughters or put his name on the birth certificate they will go after him for child support and I can't apply for these programs. Is this true? I know I would at least like his name to be on the birth certificate as the father. And am willing to keep her last name mine until we wed.
As far as WIC, A friend of mine has worked there for several years and she basically described it as income based. so if you put the father's name down, they are going to attempt to find income from him, which can include child support. Thus, that could lower your bottom line assistance.
However, this is what my friend counsels every person that comes in...DO NOT attempt to use this as a supplement to income. If you miss appts, etc. you can be "disqualified" and removed from the program. any assistance you should receive is a bonus to what you are already providing.
That may sound harsh, but they see people EVERY day that attempt to work the system and they don't have a very high tolerance for that. Your circumstances may have arrived due to an unfortunate accident and they are compassionate about that, but they EXPECT someone applying to show proof of either gainful employment or that they are seriously attempting to provide a competent healthy lifestyle for the family.
Not sure if that answers your questions. Here is a website:
http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/
If you apply for any assistance they will request the name of the child's father. The idea behind it is why should the state pay for your child if their father isn't. The child is entitled to child support. It has nothing to do with what name you give the child. You could give her your last name and put his on the birth certificate. Even if there is no father listed on the certificate they will request his name.
It doesn't matter if you list his name on the Birth Certificate or not. They will ask you for the father's name when you apply for both of those programs. There is no way around that. The father HAS to provide for the child...regardless if you think he should or not. They will consider his income as part of the income for the child, or go after him for child support and that will be included in your income. Either can happen depending on lots of factors. Regardless if you go for either of these programs they will know all about the father.
PUT HIS NAME ON THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE. If you are not entitled for any programs. Well join the real world. You and your boyfriend might have to get a job to support this child. It is a cruel world out there. If the boyfriend refuses to put his name on the birth certificate, then go to court.
It's is as another response said. The state figures if the father doesn't pay then why should they? Remember that you are young and that according to the statistics your relationship could not last forever. I wish you the best of luck and hope it does. However, you may want to get the child support to ensure that you will have some help if things do not work out. If he really loves you he should not have a problem with giving support to his child.
It sounds like he is also young and so I doubt that he makes all that much money, so he probably will not even have to pay that much. The state does not take it all.
I married my high school sweetheart and I was convinced that we would be together forever, but now I am divorced. I am very grateful I get the child support, because I would not see a dime from my son's father otherwise.
I am not trying to be grime or pessimistic. I hope you have all the luck in the world and good luck with your baby. Being a mom is the most rewarding job that you will ever have. Congratulations!
Hi Alexia,
My advice is to put the dad on the birth certificate. As long as he is not fighting you about paternity, you need to make sure that you have the means to take care of you and your baby, and part of that may mean child support. If you are living together and he is supporting you anyway, the state will take that into consideration. You cannot get any help though without naming the father, and if he doesn't already support you, you will have to get child support. (you deserve it anyway, and if the dad doesn't wanna pay, kick him to the curb. He's equally responsible for knocking you up and your baby.) Honestly, it's really only fair to you and your baby. I did it the other way, not putting the dad on the birth certificate until about five years ago, so he didn't have to lift a fingerto help us it really sucked, especially as teen agers, and I always wished that I had taken care of that earlier. Hope this helps!
Chelsea
I am in the same county as you and on TitleXIX and Wic and get food aid and a Fip check. you ca apply for everything and give your baby your b/f's last name..they did not go after my ex untill i started recieving a fip check and i have the option of going off fip and having my child support come straight to me without it affecting any of my other benifits. So in answer to your question...DHS is going to want to know your babies father's name regardless of what the child's last name is. If you put his name on her birth certificate then you will just have less paperwork to fill out later and you won't have to travel to Ottumwa to get DNA tests later. Hope this helps.
Beth
HI! As long as you two are still together they wont go after him for child support. I was also in highschool when I had my oldest and also was with the daddy. (still am today) Put his name on the birthcertificate, the baby deserves it! Worry about child support down the road.
When I had my first one my son has my husbands last name (we were only boyfriend - girlfriend at that point though). They never went after him in anyway. I am not sure what Title 19 is. I was only on WIC. So I don't think this is true for WIC.
i am on title 19 and wic and was with my first son too. my son has his last name and our unborn son will too. you can apply to get help anywhere. you are a minor and they will help you with anything. wic helps pregnant women no matter what. you don't have to put him down on your paper work. as for title 19 i think if you guys don't live together they may get him for some of the birth.....but not always. but if you need the help with bills and prenatal care...don't hesitate. it gets expensive and there may be things that come up. there are people like the case workers that can help you with all the craziness that you're not sure of. i know if you still live with your parents that title 19 will will there for you and your baby. a plus if you get on it is that your baby will have title 19 until her 1st birthday. that means all the shots and appointments are covered!! it can be a lifesaver!!
I don't really know what title 19 is. But I was not married when I had my daughter, and it really depends on what his income is. I do know that I had both wicc and state health insurance before and after my daughter was born, and he WAS on the birth certificate and it never mattered. It is harder to do once you are married. But even if his name is on her birth certificate. you should be able to apply for any assistance that you want/need. I don't know about the child support thing either, it probably depends on what state you are in. But I do know that in Wyoming and Idaho they never went after him for any kind of support, not really even now that we are getting divorced and discussing custody. My advice is go online and look up your state child support laws, and also what your states rules are on state assistance. There is tons of information on the web if you just look for it. Thats the best advice I can give you, good luck, if you need help researching I would be willing to help you, just send me a private message so we can get in touch and we could go from there. Adanna
hello!! i applied for t-19 and wic when i was pregnant. i used my boyfriends last name on the paperwork and my daughter has his name as well. we have never had any problems and my daughter is now 14 months old. she is still on wic and t-19! i was told that they came after one of my moms cousins for money for this reason, but i wanted to try it anyway and it was fine. so good luck and congratulations.
You dont't have to put him on the application, just have it that you do not know who the father is, even if you will be giving your daughter his last name. They will never know being that when that you can put any last name for your child when they are born without any questions. Having his name on there is more for income issues. I had the same situation, I'm not married but my fiancee make too much money and in cash( no proof of actual income due to his industry type) for us to get it. But my daughter has his last name on her birth certificate and I still got it because I don't work. Honestly being that you are in highschool I'm sure you have nothing to worry about unless he is older and has a job that may provide healthcare through his work.
If you put his name on anything related to your daughter, he is responsible for expenses. You can always have her name changed leagaly after you get married. Until then, all agencies have to use his finatial information. It's a pain but it's the only way they'll decide if you qualify for their programs. It doesn't really take all that much to change her name later. Hope this helps.
With Wicc that isnt the problem nor should it be with Title 19 unless they have gotten overzealous recently. If he is not living with you they can try to get child support out of him on your behalf if you are not already receiving child support from him when the baby is born. This will not count until you've actually had Bella.
When you do go into to sign up for Title 19 if you arent living together just tell them he intends to pay child support when your child is born because he will be paying for things anyway.
When Bella is born if you are not living together add up the things he pays for and turn that in as the amount of child support paid in.
If you are living together they will not go after him for child support. If you apply for FIP without living with him then they have no choice to get a child support order but you can only apply for that once your child is born also.
Right now it shouldnt be an issue just watch out after Bella is born.
Whenever you ask for help from the state and aren't married the state will go after the father for child support. I don't know if they can go after him if he is underage or not but once he is of age they will go after him unless you are married. As far as not being eligible, I think it depends on your parents income since you are not 18 yet but I'm not sure. Your eligibility would have nothing to do with the father unless you live with him. If you live with him then they shouldn't go after child support because he is already supporting the child. If your boyfriend is not contesting that he is the father he will be asked to sign a form that names him as the father and puts his name on the birth cirtificate automatically. If he requests a paternity order then his name will not be added until the paternity test is done. I hope this helps. If you need the assistance then you should really get help. You should be eligible no matter if the father is in the picture or not because you are not married.
I have three children. My last one was born 5 years ago, but i cant imagine that the system has changed that much. I was notmarried this last time to my sons dad. I was able to have his last name on the birth certificate, all i had to do for child support was write them aletter stating that i did not wish to recieve child support from him as he was helping me support ourchild and we did however live together, so im not sure if thats a factor or not, but from experience i did take the last name for my son and his dad and i have been together 7 years and he has never paid any child support.... good luck
Almost four years ago when we had our son, wic was easy, all I had to do was show them proof of my income and tell them I was single, and that's all they needed. After my son was born I put his father on the birth certificate and we hyphenated our son's last name. When I applied for medicaid for my son, they told me that if my and the father were not living together they would go to court for child support. I signed a form that said we were, showed them proof of both our incomes and we were fine. I don't know anything about title 19 though. Since we're now married and I have only my husbands last name we looked into changing our son's last name too, but it seems to be expensive and difficult. So now I'm really glad we hyphenated b/c I've been told he can go by either last name if he chooses to and legally will be fine. I hope this helps.
Alexia,
You can never go wrong with telling the truth. If you know that your boyfriend is your baby's father, put his name on the birth certificate. I would also include your last name, for example Smith-Jones. That way, under any circumstance, your baby will have both your names.
When it comes to the paperwork for the State, again, tell the truth. Someone earlier suggested simply stating "you don't know who the father is" and I couldn't give you more opposite advice. Part of being a parent is learning at any age that you have to be truthful and make the "right" choice EVERYTIME. Your children will learn by example and you may as well start out now by being truthful and accepting the natural order of things. Your daughter will look to you for guidance and integrity and by being honest from the beginning, you can look her in the face and tell her that you always did the right thing.
Okay, off my soap box for now. Good luck to you and your new little one!
Charlotte