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Entitlement of Stepchildren to Allowances of Military Member

B-199433 Dec 29, 1980
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Highlights

A request was made for an advance decision as to whether the stepchildren of a Navy Commander were in fact dependent upon him for purposes of overseas travel and other allowances. The record showed that the Director of the Navy Family Allowance Activity determined that the Commander's stepchildren were not in fact dependent upon him since, as dependents of their deceased father, also a former Navy officer, the two boys received Veterans' Administration (VA) and Social Security benefits, which virtually covered their cost of support as reported by the Commander. According to the dependency certificate prepared by the Commander's wife, the mother of the stepchildren, although the combined VA and Social Security income of the boys had increased to some extent in the past 4 years, their monthly cost of support had more than doubled. The wife pointed out that, although the boys receive VA and Social Security payments each month, they are fully dependent upon her husband since those checks are deposited in trust accounts for the boys' college education. In a prior case, GAO held that two stepchidren of a Marine Corps officer, each of whom received monthly payments from the VA and Social Security Administration, the entire sum of which was deposited in a trust fund, were not in fact dependent upon the member, since the officer and his wife had elected to place the funds in trust, rather than being directed to do so by statute or regulation. However, the Commander's legal assistance attorney argued that factors other than financial ought to be taken into consideration when making a determination as to dependency. However, GAO has no way of evaluating such nonfinancial factors. The Navy Family Allowance Activity is primarily responsible for determining whether stepchildren are in fact dependent upon a member of the Navy for purposes of paying the allowances in question. In view of the facts of this case, GAO found no basis for questioning their finding that the stepchildren were not in fact dependent upon their stepfather for purposes of overseas travel and other allowances.

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