If a social security check is received after a person dies & the check is for the previous month, is that check good & can it be cashed by a surviving relative to help cover deceased's bills? ...

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Area of Law: 

Question: 

If a social security check is received after a person dies & the check is for the previous month, is that check good & can it be cashed by a surviving relative to help cover deceased's bills?

Selected Answer: 

DakotaLegal's picture

 

 
Quick Bottom Line: You could well violate a federal law by cashing or using any Social Security benefits, or this money, that was meant to be paid on behalf of another recipient’s Social Security. You might want to look, specifically, at the Social Security law from Title 18 Part I Chapter 31 § 641. http://www.law. cornell. edu/uscode /text/18/641. The safe procedure is to contact SSA with a death certificate and to specifically ask them. You can reach the Social Security Administration (SSA) at 1-800-722-1213.
 


  • What Courts Have Said

One of the big keys about what will happen comes from whether the party using even one Social Security deposit (or check) tells the SSA about the recipient’s death. As this case showed, banks are increasingly alert to death notices, and frequently freeze accounts after death, and routinely return the final Social Security payment to the SSA. http:// caselaw. findlaw.com/us-8th-circuit/1607704.html.
 

  • What, Specifically, Happens To Social Security Benefits After Death?

 Very few people receive a “check” anymore: it’s usually direct deposited into the recipient’s bank account. In this case, you may have been asking about the spouse of the decided. Or you may be a child of the deceased. Either way, the death often affects rights of others, too. A Social Security death benefit (in the amount of $255) is payable to a surviving spouse. If there isn’t a surviving spouse, the benefit can be paid to any child(ren) if the child(ren) were receiving benefits from the deceased’s SSA account.
Usually, the surviving spouse will not have to apply for this benefit. The one-time benefit will probably be sent out, within a few months of the SSA’s confirming death. Any eligible children of the deceased may apply for this benefit, within two years of the death.
 
The Date of Death Is A Key

You indicated the check was for one month. As you suggested, these Social Security benefits for the past month are always paid at the beginning of the next month. And, no benefit is payable for the month of death. A key fact, however, is that a recipient must have lived through an entire month to be eligible for the benefit payment. For example, if the person in this case died at any time before the end of April, the amount of any check received in May must be re-paid.
 
The SSA often freezes or removes the deposit from the account, without required pre-notice to anyone.
 
Effect On The Surviving Spouse

As mentioned, the death can change the benefits being paid to a surviving or divorced spouse, or child. A surviving spouse (or even a divorced spouse who was married to the deceased for ten years or more) ought to ask SSA about eligibility for a widow/widower benefit. If the spouse with the lower social security passes away first, the benefit may still stay unchanged.
 
If you are a family friend, you might help them by visiting the SSA website…you should ask that a death benefit planner be sent. http://www.ssa.gov/pgm/survivors.htm.
 
 

  • Have You (or any affected spouse) Gone Into Probate?

 As we’ve discussed, I can’t say either what your interest is in the estate, or of the person who wants to pay the deceased’s bills. Where that process bet begins to be answered is by starting the probate process. There is affordable, low-income help available in Georgia. Try http://www.atlantalegalaid.org/ for help on probate questions.
 

All Comments

DakotaLegal's picture

 

 
Quick Bottom Line: You could well violate a federal law by cashing or using any Social Security benefits, or this money, that was meant to be paid on behalf of another recipient’s Social Security. You might want to look, specifically, at the Social Security law from Title 18 Part I Chapter 31 § 641. http://www.law. cornell. edu/uscode /text/18/641. The safe procedure is to contact SSA with a death certificate and to specifically ask them. You can reach the Social Security Administration (SSA) at 1-800-722-1213.
 


  • What Courts Have Said

One of the big keys about what will happen comes from whether the party using even one Social Security deposit (or check) tells the SSA about the recipient’s death. As this case showed, banks are increasingly alert to death notices, and frequently freeze accounts after death, and routinely return the final Social Security payment to the SSA. http:// caselaw. findlaw.com/us-8th-circuit/1607704.html.
 

  • What, Specifically, Happens To Social Security Benefits After Death?

 Very few people receive a “check” anymore: it’s usually direct deposited into the recipient’s bank account. In this case, you may have been asking about the spouse of the decided. Or you may be a child of the deceased. Either way, the death often affects rights of others, too. A Social Security death benefit (in the amount of $255) is payable to a surviving spouse. If there isn’t a surviving spouse, the benefit can be paid to any child(ren) if the child(ren) were receiving benefits from the deceased’s SSA account.
Usually, the surviving spouse will not have to apply for this benefit. The one-time benefit will probably be sent out, within a few months of the SSA’s confirming death. Any eligible children of the deceased may apply for this benefit, within two years of the death.
 
The Date of Death Is A Key

You indicated the check was for one month. As you suggested, these Social Security benefits for the past month are always paid at the beginning of the next month. And, no benefit is payable for the month of death. A key fact, however, is that a recipient must have lived through an entire month to be eligible for the benefit payment. For example, if the person in this case died at any time before the end of April, the amount of any check received in May must be re-paid.
 
The SSA often freezes or removes the deposit from the account, without required pre-notice to anyone.
 
Effect On The Surviving Spouse

As mentioned, the death can change the benefits being paid to a surviving or divorced spouse, or child. A surviving spouse (or even a divorced spouse who was married to the deceased for ten years or more) ought to ask SSA about eligibility for a widow/widower benefit. If the spouse with the lower social security passes away first, the benefit may still stay unchanged.
 
If you are a family friend, you might help them by visiting the SSA website…you should ask that a death benefit planner be sent. http://www.ssa.gov/pgm/survivors.htm.
 
 

  • Have You (or any affected spouse) Gone Into Probate?

 As we’ve discussed, I can’t say either what your interest is in the estate, or of the person who wants to pay the deceased’s bills. Where that process bet begins to be answered is by starting the probate process. There is affordable, low-income help available in Georgia. Try http://www.atlantalegalaid.org/ for help on probate questions.