Deceased wifes checks still comong in.

[Bob765]

I live in Massachusetts and after my wife passed her disability money still got deposited in her bank account. I thought it was back pay for the six months we had to wait to recieve it in the first place. They just sent a notice on whether she should still recieving benefits and im wondering if i should contact and work out a way to pay them back or what else I can do

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

Was the disability payor not notified of her death at the time she passed?

 

[Bob765]

I thought they had been but not entirely sure.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

You need to contact SSA and check.

 

[adjusterjack]

im wondering if i should contact and work out a way to pay them back

Yes.

You were obligated to notify SSA when she died. If you used money that you shouldn't have used then, yes, you have to pay it back.

Ignoring this won't make it go away.

 

[justalayman]

Short answer: yes


Longer answer:

Don’t spend the money. They will want it back


If you were due back pay they would have issued a single check for that.

 

[xylene]

Ignoring this won't make it go away.

Ignoring this could easily escalate to a criminal matter.

 

[LdiJ]

Yes.

You were obligated to notify SSA when she died. If you used money that you shouldn't have used then, yes, you have to pay it back.

Ignoring this won't make it go away.

The SSA gets notified by the entity issuing the death certificate so it wouldn't make sense that disability checks were continuing if the disability payment was SSDI or SSI. I suspect that the OP is talking about disability insurance rather than disability from SSA.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

The SSA gets notified by the entity issuing the death certificate so it wouldn't make sense that disability checks were continuing if the disability payment was SSDI or SSI. I suspect that the OP is talking about disability insurance rather than disability from SSA.

Not according to this on the SSA site.

In most cases, the funeral home will report the person's death to us. You should give the funeral home the deceased person's Social Security number if you want them to make the report. If you need to report a death or apply for benefits, call 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778).
Benefits Planner: Survivors | How You Apply | Social Security ...

https://www.ssa.gov/planners/survivors/howtoapply.html

 

[justalayman]

The op did not specify it was government money so ldij could have a point thst op is dealing with some private insurance issue. Maybe op will clarify

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

The OP didn't specify but LdiJ did.

And to my knowledge death certificate issuing entities don't notify all private insurance companies when someone dies.

 

[LdiJ]

Not according to this on the SSA site.

In most cases, the funeral home will report the person's death to us. You should give the funeral home the deceased person's Social Security number if you want them to make the report. If you need to report a death or apply for benefits, call 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778).
Benefits Planner: Survivors | How You Apply | Social Security ...
https://www.ssa.gov/planners/survivors/howtoapply.html

Yes, the funeral home issues the death certificate, or at least does the paperwork for the death certificate to be issued.

 

[justalayman]

The OP didn't specify but LdiJ did.

And to my knowledge death certificate issuing entities don't notify all private insurance companies when someone dies.

Ldij suggested it could be something other than SSDI/SSi. Since op didn’t specify, there is a possibility ldij could be correct.


Especially if it is a private insurer there is less chance of the issuer being aware of the death unless op notified them himself.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

Please notice that I underlined "In most cases..." in what I quoted from SSA.

 

[justalayman]

Please notice that I underlined "In most cases..." in what I quoted from SSA.

Ya, that was nice. I’m not sure why it’s pertinent to my statement but none the less, it’s a fantastic job of underlining and I’ve seen a lot of underlining in my life and yours is among the best I’ve seen.