Social Security benefits

What is the name of your state? Washington

I have a friend who has passed away and has a 9 month old daughter. She and the father were not married however he is named on the birth certificate. She is still legally married to someone else who did sign over paternity rights. The dad has applied for the deceased's social security benefits. Can he do this on the behalf of his daughter even though the next of kin is this other guy who is her legal spouse? This money was to go into a trust per her mother's wishes and now will be squandered away by the Dad. Any advice I can get would be appreciated!

Did the father of the baby take custody of the baby? If so, he should get the money as survivor benefits for the baby. If not, I don't think he should be entitled to anything.

[nailtech]

Originally posted by 4gals1guy
Did the father of the baby take custody of the baby? If so, he should get the money as survivor benefits for the baby. If not, I don't think he should be entitled to anything.

I agree totally, and so you should call the SSI and tip them off to the fraud and/or contest the application, the money belongs to the child, he shouldn't get the money just because he's on the birth cert... who is raising the child??

[ellencee]

the person having custody of the child will receive the benefits on behalf of the child. more likely than not, this person will be the father of the child (infant). I do not see any reason to claim fraud or any reason to upset the balance of this child's life further by trying to discredit the natural father's ability to love and raise his own child.
noteworthy in this instance is a recent declaration by the government (SS) that these funds should not be saved for the child's future--it seems some well-meaning grandparents supported the children and saved all of their benefits for college, etc. and were found to have withheld the benefits from the children, and therefore were asked to repay SS the full amount. If I recall correctly, the grandparents did not have to repay the amount, but in the future, saving these benefits could result in the benefits having to be repaid in full.

[nailtech]

ellencee, I was saying/meaning if the person who was raising the child is not the one receiving the SSI then contest the application... the money should go with the child and or who ever raises the child... (just clarifying myself)...

Thank you all for responding and your advice. Unfortunately the father does have legal custody but only takes care of her when it's convenient for him (i.e. passes her off to her aunt when she needs to be taken to the doctor or is fussy at night). We obviously all want whats best for the child and do not want to cause her any undue heartache now or in the future. Our hearts are just broken and we are concerned about her welfare as the father is an alcoholic and has been known to use drugs. We just want to be assured her welfare is in his best interest and are concerned that it is not. We are setting up a trust for her outside of all this so we can be sure she has something for her future as we are pretty convinced he will not do this. It's a very sad story all the way around and we are just trying to do what the baby's mother's wishes were and take care of her the best we can. Thank you all again, I appreciate the time you took to respond and am glad to know there are forums out there like this when you feel desperate for advice.

If it's any consolation, Social Security makes you keep a good record of how you spend the money. Whatever you don't spend on the child, you must save and show proof. So, if he's squandering the money, he won't get away with it forever.

[nailtech]

I have never heard of such a thing,. Not saying they don't but when did they start that?? That’s worse then the IRS making you account for deductions,... accounting for income is harder to do...
Is there a list of acceptable expenditures they use? What are their guidelines?? Please show me a link to the guidelines to what they consider acceptable vs. squandering...

I’m curious...

I am disabled and receive disability benefit myself and because my son is still a minor who receives his own benefits. I am what is called the "Representative payee" in SSA lingo for my son. The same thing would apply to death benefits. The duties of a representative payee are quite exacting. You are required to keep accurate records of how the money is spent for the benefit of the child. Each year you have to fill out a brief questionaire that starts with the question "Have you ever been convicted of a felony" and goes on to say how much of the money was used for the child's actual support. There is a provision for saving the excess funds, however, but you have to provide the account number of the financial institution. At the end, you have to sign a statement which I'm para-phrasing here " ... under penalties of law including imprisonment". The SSA regards fraud very seriously. While I've never been asked to substantiate how I'm using my son's benefits, at a moment's notice I will be able to produce the documentation.

To Poster:
Not saying it would be impossible to defraud the SSA; hopefully the money is being spent on behalf of the child. If you any reason to suspect it is not, and can substantiate your suspicians, by all means call your local SSA office or the main number in your phonebook. Sorry for your loss.

To Ellencee: I love reading your posts. jode04 has raised some valid concerns that "creep me out". There is serious potential abuse of the funds here. I am not saying it's true in this case however.

Jode04: I am assuming he has physical custody of this child, meaning of course, she will reside with him. I gave my last post some further thought. The SSA puts emphasis on all costs of raising a child (housing, medical, food, clothes, etc.) When the "representee payee" receives the form I've already mentioned all he would have to do (if fraud is intended) is be able to produce his rent and/or mortgage receipts if challenged. Likely the child's benefits are less than the amount of his rent/mortgage. If the benefits she receives are 50% or less than the amount of rent/mortgage, assuming she and Dad are the only ones in residence, then he's in the clear. Provided of course that he intends to "squander" her benefits; I agree with Ellencee on this, hasn't been proven.

Good luck and document anything that seems "odd". It's doubtful that the SSA would be interested much in the Aunt's taking the child to the doctor, etc. but probably would be interested if he has any arrests on felony charges. Don't be paranoid, just observant. I know you have your friend's daughter's best interests at heart - kudoes to you!

jode04: As far as SSI is concerned it is as you have been told, it gose with the child. I am curious as to why, you or the "stepfather" haven't tried to get custody of the child. I know it is a long hard battle, but the good news is you can win. If you have any proof that the paternal father is an alcoholic and/or drug user. That would be grounds for an investigation by child services. If the partial father hasn't been in the child's life until the passing of her mother, that makes your case stronger. If you are concerned for the life and wellbeing of the child and not just her financial future Please for her sake pursue custody.