# getting your dead ex-husband's social security **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 21, 2009, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-your-dead-ex-husbands-social-security/507208 "2009-08-21T16:05:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Maia\_s\_Well](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Maia\_s\_Well](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maia_s_Well)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-your-dead-ex-husbands-social-security/507208/1 "2009-08-21T16:05:49Z")
And by “you” I actually mean “my mom”. She’s been telling all her friends that she could get my deceased dad’s social security if she “wanted” to, and might consider doing so if her financial situation gets any worse (meaning, I guess, if any more of her relatives stop giving her money). I have many questions (mostly about why my mom can’t get her ess aitch eye tea together), but the one I’m asking here is: Is it really possible for someone to get money from their dead \*\*EX-\*\*spouse’s social security? And, if so, why would that be? Some specific info might be needed. My dad passed away at age 50, 13 years ago. When he died, he and my mom had been divorced for 9 years, and mom had remarried (someone else) and divorced him during that time. I did a google search and also tried the social security site. The best I’ve been able to do is “it’s possible.” So, any factual information would be appreciated. Once we’ve figured out what’s what, then we can run off to GD or the pit and argue about whether people _should_ be able to cash in on dead exes. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-your-dead-ex-husbands-social-security/507208/2 "2009-08-21T16:28:58Z")
Sure, I have a relative that is doing this. SS people can be quite helpful in assisting people in maximizing their SS benefits and this is one of many obscure things that they know about. As to why, remember that their were a joint ecomomic unit for a while, so the money the husband paid into SS was also hers to a certain extent and so she is entitled to collect a share of those earned benefits. It’s not all that different from community property, just with a delayed payout time frame. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-your-dead-ex-husbands-social-security/507208/3 "2009-08-21T16:50:59Z")
Surviving spouses are entitled to benefits on their spouses’ accounts under some conditions – I believe it’s conditioned on their still being legally married (even if separated) at time of death, among other things. A surviving spouse or child is separately entitled to a one-time death benefit of $255, presumably to help with death-related expenses. And children under 18 (or still in school – the rules governing this are a trifle complex) are entitled to survivor’s benefits separately from anything their surviving parent may be entitled to. [(Source)](http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/deathbenefits.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Maia\_s\_Well](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Maia\_s\_Well](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maia_s_Well)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-your-dead-ex-husbands-social-security/507208/4 "2009-08-21T17:35:17Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > As to why, remember that their were a joint ecomomic unit for a while, so the money the husband paid into SS was also hers to a certain extent and so she is entitled to collect a share of those earned benefits. It’s not all that different from community property, just with a delayed payout time frame. I hadn’t thought about that, and it makes sense. Thanks. Thanks to both of you for your responses and info provided. It sounds like the only way to know about mom’s situation for sure is to contact Social Security. And, BTW, I must sound pretty awful to talk about my mom that way. It’s a long, complicated story, and my worry about her has left me pretty frustrated, but I love my mama. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-your-dead-ex-husbands-social-security/507208/5 "2009-08-21T18:36:30Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > Surviving spouses are entitled to benefits on their spouses’ accounts under some conditions – I believe it’s conditioned on their still being legally married (even if separated) at time of death, among other things. I don’t think that is a condition. If you follow your own link and click through to more detailed infromation, you will see: > [@](#): > > Benefits for surviving divorced spouses > If you have been divorced, your former wife or husband who is age 60 or older (50-59 if disabled) can get benefits if your marriage lasted at least 10 years. Your former spouse, however, does not have to meet the age or length-of-marriage rule if he or she is caring for his/her child who is under age 16 or who is disabled and also entitled based on your work. The child must be your former spouse’s natural or legally adopted child. ---
**Author:** ![JimOfAllTrades](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@JimOfAllTrades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimOfAllTrades)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-your-dead-ex-husbands-social-security/507208/6 "2009-08-22T02:37:41Z")
I have a very close relative who collects a SS benefit from her ex-husband, who she divorced over 20 years prior to his death, and who was married to another woman when he died. She also gets a monthly SS check from her last husband, to whom she was married at the time of his death. I know this because I do her taxes and help take care of her finances on a regular basis. I think (although I’m not positive because I have no access to her records) that the ex-husband’s wife at the time of his death also gets a SS benefit. I think that the amount my relative gets from her ex-husband was calculated on a “pro-rated” basis, based on the number of years they were married, and possibly his income during those years. But it’s been several years since it started and I don’t remember the details of the explanation of the benefits, which were relayed to me through the relative who at the best of times is not great with explanations. But I’m positive a woman can collect from SS based on an ex-husband. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-your-dead-ex-husbands-social-security/507208/7 "2009-08-22T03:19:26Z")
Social security gives you the benefit they THINK you should be getting, and they are usually on spot, but there may be things overlooked and such. You should get what you’re entitled to. Social Security is fairly good, but be prepared to wait long times. Get an appointment and they’ll tell you what you need to re-evalutate the benefit. Then get those documents. All they can do is turn you down right? ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-your-dead-ex-husbands-social-security/507208/8 "2009-08-22T03:38:00Z")
And _of course_ you’re conflicted about how you feel about your mother. Join the club, the Homo sapiens sapiens club. ---
**Author:** ![Maia\_s\_Well](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Maia\_s\_Well](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maia_s_Well)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-your-dead-ex-husbands-social-security/507208/9 "2009-08-24T12:54:15Z")
> [@Civil\_Guy](#): > > And _of course_ you’re conflicted about how you feel about your mother. Join the club, the Homo sapiens sapiens club. Thanks again, all, and especially for this one! ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2009, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-your-dead-ex-husbands-social-security/507208/10 "2009-08-25T22:27:42Z")
The conditions upon which a divorced spouse is entitled to benefits is based upon many factors, and your best bet is to make an appointment with the District Office, or your Mom should. The conditions are spelled out at 20 CFR 404.331 and 404.332. Summarized as succintly as I can, those regulations state that a person is entitled to wife’s or husband’s benefits as the divorced wife or divorced husband of an insured person who is entitled to old-age or disability benefits if he or she “meet the requirements of paragraphs (a) through (e.)” Those paragraphs state, as applicable herein, that the party was married to the insured for at least 10 years immediatey before the divorce became final; the party applies; the party is not married; the party is age 62 or older; the party has been divorced for at least two years; and he or she is not entitled to a primary insured amount equal to or greater than the full wife’s or husband’s benefits. In the OP, the wage earner died at age 50 and was no longer married to the poster’s Mom. The poster’s Mom remarried before the wage earner died. Widow’s and Widower’s benefits are covered at 404.335. This is where the “60 years old” or “50 years old” applies. The only applicable provision in this lengthy regulation is that the parties must have been married for at least 9 months immediately before the insured died (with certain exceptions not applicable herein). In short, since your Mom was not married to your Dad for at least 9 months before he died, she is not eligible for those benefits. Since the father was not eligible for old-age or disability benefits (at least the disability part was not mentioned), the divorced parties regulations (404.331 and 404.332) are not applicable. So, all the posts that mentioned the 10-year rule(divorced spouse), the age 60 rule (widow or widower’s benefits), etc. are not applicable. If the insured was disabled when he died at age 50, she still would not be eligible because 404.331(1)© and (2)(b) state that she must not be married at the time she applies. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2009, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-your-dead-ex-husbands-social-security/507208/11 "2009-08-25T22:40:28Z")
I erred at the end of my last post and was unable to edit it. So, I’m reposting it, and now correctly: The conditions upon which a divorced spouse is entitled to benefits is based upon many factors, and your best bet is to make an appointment with the District Office, or your Mom should. The conditions are spelled out at 20 CFR 404.331 and 404.332. Summarized as succintly as I can, those regulations state that a person is entitled to wife’s or husband’s benefits as the divorced wife or divorced husband of an insured person who is entitled to old-age or disability benefits if he or she “meet the requirements of paragraphs (a) through (e.)” Those paragraphs state, as applicable herein, that the party was married to the insured for at least 10 years immediatey before the divorce became final; the party applies; the party is not married; the party is age 62 or older; the party has been divorced for at least two years; and he or she is not entitled to a primary insured amount equal to or greater than the full wife’s or husband’s benefits. In the OP, the wage earner died at age 50 and was no longer married to the poster’s Mom. The poster’s Mom remarried before the wage earner died. Widow’s and Widower’s benefits are covered at 404.335. This is where the “60 years old” or “50 years old” applies. One of the conditions for receiving widow’s benefits is that the widow remain unremarried unless she remarries after becoming 60 years old; or if she is now age 60 or older but remarried after age 50 and she met the disability requirements set forth at 404.335©, which requires that she be “disabled” according to SSA regulations and the disability began not later than 7 years after the insured died, with certain other exceptions I don’t think I need to go into.