Q: My husband just committed suicide his family wants me to sign over his SSI to our daughter 21, do I have to? Laws? Rule?
We married in 1998 separated in 2001 but never finalized the divorce. Word is our daughter is going to ask me to sign over his SSI, is this something that I need to get a lawyer for? Can his family require me to do so? Wouldn’t our daughter qualify for the Child SSI? Or is his SSI held because of his cause of death?
A: There is no such thing as "signing over" SSI. If your husband was receiving Social Security disability or retirement benefits, those stopped with his death. If your adult daughter has been receiving benefits from his earnings record because she is disabled, those can continue. But no one can continue to collect the benefits he was receiving in his place. If he was not receiving any benefits at his death then your daughter may qualify for disabled adult child benefits if she is found to be disabled prior to age 22. You can check with Social Security to see if you may be eligible for any widow's benefits - those are dependent on many different things, including everyone's age, work history and length of marriage.
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