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MISSISSIPPI DIVISION OF MEDICAID Eligibility Policy and Procedures Manual CHAPTER 102 – Non-Financial Requirements Page |104 Effective Month: September 2018 Determining Relationship After Marriage Ends Relationship extends to the legal spouse of the above listed relatives even after the marriage is terminated by death or divorce. The relationship requirement is met when the child lives with any of the relatives named above. Legal custody is not a factor in determining relationship. Adoption Legal adoption terminates all prior relationships except that the biological parent remains a qualified relative to the child for eligibility in the Medical Assistance (75) program. A natural or biological parent whose child has returned to the parent’s home after being legally adopted by another individual is within the degree of relationship. In such instances the natural parent is not legally responsible for the child and the adoptive parents must be reported as absent parents to the Division of Child Support. Example: The maternal grandmother adopts her grandchild. The biological mother returns to live in the home. The biological mother is not within the degree of relationship because the legal mother (the grandmother) is living in the home. Example: The maternal grandmother adopts her grandchild, and the child later returns to live with the biological mother. In this case, the biological mother is within the degree of relationship because the legal mother is not living in the home. The adoptive mother (grandmother) is the absent legal parent for child support purposes. Verifying Relationship Relationship for the Parent/Caretaker program must be verified by electronic data sources, primarily EVVE, if the parent/caretaker was born in a state participating in EVVE. If unable to use EVVE to verify relationship, request documentation such as birth certificates (to prove parental relationship). While parents may provide the child’s birth certificate or other legal documents to prove relationship, another relative will need to provide additional documents to show the relationship to the child’s parent and to the child.