Question: A claimant is approved for back Title II Social Security disability benefits but dies before they can be paid. The claimant is survived by a wife who has been separated from him for ten years and who is not drawing benefits on his Social Security number and by two healthy children who are 21 and 25 years of age. He leaves behind a will that leaves his entire estate to his disabled brother. Who gets the back benefits?
Possible Answers:
- The estate, thereby giving it to the brother
- The estranged wife
- The two children in equal shares
- No one
Please explain the answer
ReplyDeleteThe POMS reference is here.
ReplyDeleteIf there is no information on the husband's claim suggesting that the marriage has ended and no other party comes forth with such information, the marriage is determined to still be ongoing provided proof of the marriage has been furnished. There exists an additional burden on the surviving spouse if the deceased spouse held anyone else out as his or her spouse during the time of separation, but there are no statements presented in the quiz to suggest this needs to be considered.
ReplyDeleteThe benefits due are treated like any other underpayment. As the two surviving children are not entitled on the record and there is no surviving parent entitled on the record, the next highest priority is a surviving spouse who was not living with the disabled claimant for the month of death.
The legal representative is the lowest priority for a Title II underpayment.
The answer assumes that when the claimant was asked "Are you married? he answered Yes, and was able to give an address for the spouse. Having been through numerous such interviews, I could almost guarantee that he would state that he thought he was divorced, and would not have an address for her. If the disabled brother or his representative applies for those back benefits, and assuming the estranged spouse does not know that he was awarded benefits (and applies for them), it could result in problems. The local SSA office, after trying to locate the ex-spouse, I believe would have no choice but to pay the disabled brother.
ReplyDeleteNobody--no one left who knows how to process the case--quite common,actually--lol.
ReplyDelete