How does getting BAH work for an out of wedlock child who will be born in December?

CPL Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 30 Jul 2023 20:13:54 -0400

Hey, so my GF and I are expecting a child come December and aren’t planning on marriage till after my Dependent restricted tour, how would it work to get BAH once the child is born and submitted in DEERS so I can help support them, my HAAP is back to where they live currently and I have lived with her before leaving for a year but never got BAH. Is it even possible to get it while on this tour and me not being home. Any and all advice will help so I can prepare myself.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 30 at 2023 8:23 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 30 Jul 2023 20:23:06 -0400

As long as your child is in deers, you will get BAB with dependents.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 31 at 2023 11:02 AM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 31 Jul 2023 11:02:39 -0400

In order to receive BAH, you must have a dependant enrolled in DEERS.
Since you will not be married, you will have to provide court order or paternity test proving you are responsible for this child. See DEERS required documentation at https://www.tricare.mil/Plans/Eligibility/DEERS/RequiredDocuments

Required Documents | TRICARE

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 31 at 2023 1:21 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 31 Jul 2023 13:21:24 -0400

If they are listed as a dependent in DEERS, then you get with dependent rates. You will get the rate based on where the child is located I believe.

Yes you'd get it the last 5 months as long as you put the child in DEERS and then go to finance and update to get BAH w/ dependent. And to put the kid in DEERS you will have to show paternity established by however the state the kid is born in establishes paternity. Some it's just being on the birth certificate. Some you have to sign an acknowledgement of paternity. Some both.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 8 at 2023 11:36 AM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 08 Aug 2023 11:36:35 -0400

I was in a similar situation once.

Basically............... look up your local DEERS office requirements to get a new dependent in the system. I presume the DEERS requirements will be the same everywhere you go, but the state the kid was born in is going to be different regarding how they give you the documents that DEERS is going to ask of you (my example is one kid born in Virginia and the other born in California).

Now, from there........ don't discuss any complicating family life situations. Just get the kids into DEERS. Give them what they ask for on the check list and move on in life.

At one point I did not claim them. We were unmarried, and the nuance to BAH is I would have to have a court order saying I agree to all that responsibility. The problem with that from my partner's side was such a court order basically predetermined I get the kids if we separate. So yea, as a drilling reservist where BAH is irrelevant she had no interest in that set up.

Then however, she messed up, and failed to renew her employer health insurance for the kids. So the kids no longer had health insurance.

Thankfully, because they were in DEERS I put them on my TRICARE Reserve Select rather painlessly, but I still wasn't getting BAH.

Life, having one complicates it.