Does it matter who has sole guardianship, the service member or the spouse, when trying to enroll someone in DEERS?

"To seek dependent status for a minor child for whom you have legal custody or guardianship, you
must submit the child’s birth certificate, DD Forms 137-7 and 1172, and the original or certified
copies of the guardianship or other relevant court documents to DFAS."

However, if only your spouse gets legal custody or guardianship, I don't think you can try to claim them as a dependent. It seems like you would also have to be legally made the guardian as well to submit for dependent status of your in law.

Have you talked to legal at all yet? That is the first place I would have gone.

Thanks for the question Sgt. Baron

Is there a reason you can't do joint guardians?

I am not a lawyer, but just looking at it from a common sense angle, it would not make sense for the courts to award you sole guardianship of your brother-in-law instead of your wife (provided your wife is legally competent, which I assume she is). I do not know if you can enroll your wife's dependent in DEERS, it would be much easier for everyone if she was your DIRECT dependent (i.e. you are a legal guardian). It would make sense to me that if your wife lives with you, and your wife is the legal guardian, then your brother-in-law would also be your dependent.

But all of that is using common sense. The rules / law don't always follow common sense. If you can legally be joint guardians, it resolves any and all questions.