Orphan if parent still alive?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I believe if children are abandoned they legally qualify as orphans. So for example if both paretns are living and choose not to participate, a child becomes an orphan, goes into the system and gets all the benefits. But yes a lawyer would know better.

Yes, I may need to help her find a lawyer. It is more a question for all the financial aid forms (for college) and various banking forms. She is trying to sort out all the legal/financial pieces that come with her mother's death and there are so many. Seeing as she is the one managing the estate and everything to do with it and filling all the paperwork out, there are frequent explanations that need to be given. Also many of the forms do not have an option for one parent deceased, one parent uninvolved - there was a box for parents deceased, or one for single parent.

Not an issue for her friends or random people. Her father is on her birth certificate.

I put on my financial aid forms that I have had no contact with my father since age one and have no information about him or his whereabouts. I got financial aid without any further questions. But this was 20 years ago.

[Anonymous]

I would just write that your mom was a single mother. If they happen to look at your birth certificate then you can explain all the drama. But, basically your father deserted you. He lives in a different country so the US courts can force him to do anything. I might call a help line (there must be such a thing for FAFSA) and ask them.

[Anonymous]

Yes, please see below

"An orphan, technically, has no living biological parents. A double orphan is another way of saying this. Social orphans may have a biological parent, but that parent is not able to care for them."

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/06/modern-orphans-of-mississippi/371906/

[Anonymous]

I get that it's a tough position to be in, but I don't think her saying she's an orphan will make it easier on herself. Trust me, people will question that even more than if she were to just say her mom's dead and her dad's not around.

Signed,

An orphan in the original, commonly interpreted sense.

[Anonymous]

The 18 y/o MUST get a lawyer, preferably a probate lawyer. S/he may be entitled to mother's social security as long as 1/2 time student, possibly through age 22-24 or so. Whether or not s/he is legally treated as an "orphan" varies by state. If s/he has no actual knowledge of living father's contact info and whereabouts, may actually be a legal (if not factual) orphan. May also be entitled to some support from bio-father, but receiving such support could result in the loss of other benefits and legal "orphan" status. Please go get a good probate lawyer.