I can claim her as a dependant as long as she is enrolled in college full time. I provide health insurance and have claimed her for many years even though she has never lived with me. Also just for conversation's sake, I have always paid support and mantained contact with her. I did take off on her mother (and her I guess by proxy) because her mom was completly stupid. Also, in my youth I made many many mistakes, but the point is that I would feel guilty if I didn't makes some kind of a stand. The idea is that if you love your kids you want them to avoid mistakes even if you have made the same mistake. My father died when I was 5 and I never had anyone around to tell me when I was screwing up. I would have loved to have had someone kick my ass even at the age of 19.