I'm having a debate with my husband's cousin that someone here may be able to clear up for us. Please bare with me through this brief explanation.

The cousin, "Betty", is a single mother of two children. She receives government assistance, in the form of food stamps, a medical card, and housing assistance. Obviously, she states these two children live with her and are dependent on her for their food, housing, and care, in the paperwork she files to keep her assistance. The children's father does not live in the home. He pays a minimal amount of child support that goes through the state. (Arriving at my point...). She in unemployed. She wants him to claim the children on his taxes (through signing a form 8332 I suppose?) so that he can receive the child tax credit. My argument to her was that since she has already reported to the government that these are her dependents and she is solely responsible for their care (and she reports no monies received from him over and above his court ordered child support), that this is double dipping the government and will not be legal. I explained that in order for him to claim the children he has to provide half of their support, which she has already reported that he provides no support to the government through the paperwork she files for all the assistance she receives.

We searched online forever today. She says we could not find any information online because it's obviously so common and legal no one has to ask it. I argued that we could not find anything because it is so clearly illegal no one asks it. Haha. PLEASE HELP!