Qualifying children

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

I have children and their father has recently went for a hearing is waiting on a decision. I was told that the kids will qualify for benefits. I have several questions.
How is the amount determined?
What are the rules for the cutoff age to recieve benefits?
Do the children recieve back pay as well?
What steps if any do I need to take to set up their case?
If a child is 18 but still in high school do they qualify, and for how long?

Claudia (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 14:42 Permalink

My son was on disability, he was never married to his sons mother, he just received a notification that SS overpaid $107,000 yesterday, he had no idea what this was for. I had him call SS immediately to try to find out what this was all about, the representative told him that apparently SS made a mistake and was sending the sons mother the "yearly" allocation to her on a monthly basis - for instance he should have received $350 a month and around $4,250 a year, but SS sent $4,250 a month to her. My son has not seen his son in over 12 years, the mother would not allow any contact at all. Apparently the mother applied for a portion of disability for the son, my son was not aware that this was done and that his son was receiving payments, he never received any paperwork or notification of this, he never signed any documents in regards to this. 1) wouldn't the mother have received some notice that told her what the monthly allocation was for the son? 2) By her not reporting the overage and cashing the check each month isn't that fraud and holds her liable? 3) My son should be waived of any responsibility as he had no knowledge or didn't benefit at all from this as he has not seen his son at all. Any feedback you can offer is greatly appreciated. I just don't know how SS can hold my son accountable when he had not idea at all this money was being sent. Thank you

D (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 14:42 Permalink

Hi Claudia, I am so sorry to hear about your son's current predicament. If your son was never married to his child's mother but she received SSI benefits on his behalf without his knowledge, this is social security fraud. The son's mother should be responsible for the payments. I would advise you to contact your SSA representative to get the matter sorted out. Best of luck to you and your son.

Linda (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 14:44 Permalink

I received custody of my granddaughter when she was 3 and both her parents went to prison. I have had her ever since and she is now 10. Her parents got out of prison for a couple years but she remained with me with no financial help from her parents. I started drawing my ss retirement when she was 6 and her parents were still in jail. I was told at that time that I had to have adopted her but reading the rules now it does not say that. Now I'm told I had to have applied for her within a year after staring my benefits. How would I find out what is true. Her parents are now back in prison and are looking at up to 20 yrs with breaking parole. Where could I go to find out?

D (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 14:44 Permalink

Hi Linda,
I am so sorry to hear about your current situation. It's pretty specific, so I would recommend contacting your local SSA representative. You could also get in contact with an attorney by filling out our Free Disability Evaluation. Best of luck to you.

Kathy (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 14:44 Permalink

Hi. First, thank you for taking the time to read and reply. I have a daughter out of wedlock who is now 12. To cut to the chase... paternity was established a long time ago but now by judiciary order. More recently he acknowledged by signing a paternity acknowledgment form through DHR. He is on SSDI and has been for maybe a year or longer. My question is, if approved to receive Social or supplemental support, will my daughter recieve any back pay and if so how far does it go back? 3 months, a year,? I am a seriously struggling mom and this was a small sigh of relief to find out today that she should be eligible. Thank you so much

Gordy (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 14:44 Permalink

Hi Kathy,
Yes, to my knowledge the child is entitled to back pay as far back as the time at which the father was approved for SSDI. So long as your daughter is her father's dependent, she should qualify.

Michell (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 14:45 Permalink

I have a daughter that received Ssi and she is pregnant. Will she get more Ssi after the baby is born.

D (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 14:45 Permalink

Hi Michell,
I am not positive. Recipients of SSI cannot register their children for auxiliary payments, but becoming a mother may raise her SSI benefits due to the additional costs of taking care of a kid. Your daughter should speak with her SSA representative to find out whether or not she could expect an increase in payments.

Ayana (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 14:45 Permalink

I was served papers this past Monday from the Madison County Sheriff because my son's dad is trying to become the residential parent(Get custody of our son) he also is trying to give me visitation every other two weeks and trying to order me to pay child support. My son will be two January 24th 2015. My son's dad has been in and out his life for pretty much the entire year, he has no relationship with the child whatsoever. Its actually been 5 months as we speak that he has not seen his son, not a single call, text, or visit since July 5th of this year. He has never given me any MONEY not once since our son has been born, he has bought things here and there, but its not consistent, and he hasn't paid child support at all because he's disabled, and I have tried to collect child support but I can't cause I was told that there are three types of social security and the type that he gets they don't consider it income, therefore I can't get child support, now all of a sudden I'm being served papers because he wants to be the residential parent? What can I do to stop this? And can he be granted custody with disability as being his only form of income? When I been told numerous times that i can't even get child support cause they don't consider his disability check as income. (Side note) he does work on the farm and gets paid under the table

D (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 14:45 Permalink

Hi Ayana, First off, if he works under the table and does not report his income to the SSA, he is committing social security fraud and could lose all of his disability payments. Additionally, both SSI and SSDI payments can be court-ordered to be used for child support. I could contact your local SSA office to speak with someone who can help you with your specific case. Good luck.

Deb (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 14:53 Permalink

I am on ssdi and my son no receives a portion of my ssdi as he was disabled befor me and at a young age.He also gets ssi.He had a child and the child's mother is on ssi.They all live with me and have since before the child was conceived.Can that child receive benefits from my ssdi?

D (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 14:53 Permalink

Hi Deb,
This is a pretty complicated situation. If he is over age 18 he cannot receive a percentage of your benefits, BUT you did say that he became disabled at a young age. If he became disabled before age 22, he can receive a portion of your benefits as an Adult Child. Adult Children are adults who were disabled before age 22 and who are eligible to receive up to 50% of their parents' benefits. Is he married to the child's mother? Adult Children cannot be married to receive benefits. You can read more about Adult Children here.
Keep in mind that if he receives SSDI payments from you then his SSI payments will decrease, or even stop entirely.

Shelly (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 14:53 Permalink

Our 17 year old wants to immapate himself will he still receive my disability benefits if he's not living in my house hold.

D (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 14:54 Permalink

Hi Shelley,
Is he emancipating himself? If so, I still believe he would be eligible for benefits so long as he meets the qualifying factors:
1. He is under age 18
2. He is unmarried
I'd call the SSA representative who handles your case to be sure but I think he may still qualify.

Christina (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 14:54 Permalink

My ex husband who resides with me still is receiving approx.1300 Per month. He set up account for benefits for our 8 year old daughter. He gives me 250 of her approx.650 a month. I am accounting for the 250 through receipts. I have no clue where the rest of her money is going. As custodial parent, shouldn't I be in charge of the account for her...as I pay bills,groceries, house...etc...? Who would I contact to find that out? I don't believe it is right to use it as personal savings, or for a vacation fund.

D (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 14:54 Permalink

Hi Christina,
Because your ex husband still lives in the household, I am really not sure who legally can be in charge of the money. If your daughter is not disabled, there are also different rules with how her money is spent (I am presuming she gets auxiliary benefits from his SSDI benefits). What your best bet would be is to go to your local SSA office and speak to them about changing the recipient of your daughter's payments, and how the payments can be used. Good luck!

Margaret (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 14:55 Permalink

I would like to know if my niece is eligible to draw any benefits from her mothers SS. My sister retire from Purlator about 1 year ago after 35 years of service. My sister is divorced and her daughter Kathy is disable. I understand Kathy has in about 37 quarters, but is unable to work to try and get 3 more quarters. She desperately needs some help. Her medicine is about $200.00 a mouth. Thank you for your help.

D (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 14:55 Permalink

Hi Margaret,
I am really sorry to hear that your sister is unable to get benefits because she is only three work credits short. If her daughter isn't already receiving SSI benefits, she may be eligible for that. Your sister can also receive SSI benefits if she is disabled and does not have enough work credits to pay for SSDI.
If she's interested, she should consider talking to a disability lawyer. They are completely optional, but a lawyer could help her with the paperwork and defend her case in court if need be. They also do not get paid if she loses her case, and if she wins, they would only receive a percentage of her back pay (typically 25%, but no more than $6,000). She can get in contact with a lawyer in her area by taking our Free Disability Evaluation.

Cilla (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 14:56 Permalink

My daughter is going to be 18 in May but will still be in high school for another year. She has Spastic Diplegia Cerebral Palsy. Is she eligible for SSI? If so what is the first step in the process. Thank you for any help you can give.

D (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 14:56 Permalink

Hi Cilla,
Your daughter could qualify for disability benefits with cerebral palsy, but it will depend on how severe her symptoms are. You can read more about qualifying with cerebral palsy here: http://www.disability-benefits-help.org/disabling-conditions/cerebral-p…
Your first step will be going call your local SSA office to schedule an appointment to fill out the paperwork.
I will note that about 70% of claims are denied the first time around. You may want to consider speaking with a disability advocate who could help you with your claim. Disability advocates guide you through the paperwork, defend you in court, and are only paid if you win your case and receive back pay. Good luck with your case!

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