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?

Greg (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 15:04 Permalink

I have a granddaughter that I have basically taken care of her whole life. I was transferred to Vermont and while I was there my granddaughter was going to be put into a foster home unless we wanted to have custody. The adoption was started, and the parental rights were given to us. We then moved home to Texas in 2009, and the adoption was transferred there. We went thru the home visit,and drug tests. We never heard anything after that. The next year we had a status hearing on the phone with Vermont and they said that Texas had never received the paper work. We have had full custody of her since 2007. The parental rights were taken away from the parents, and we were given full custody. We then went into lingo between Vermont and Texas, all the while we had a yearly status hearing with Vermont. We have now started the adoption in Texas. I applied for disability and was accepted on the first application. When I tried to add my grand daughter I told them that we lost our house in a fire and would have to get all the paperwork from Vermont. The lady told me she would put a hold on the case until we got it all together. When I went to the local SSID office with the paperwork, the lady took all of it and said that there should be no problem. I waited for a month then I went back to the office and asked the status of the case. That lady told me to bring in her school paperwork listing us as the parents, and to also bring in our last 7 years of tax returns, listing her as our daughter. it took almost a year and I received a denial letter stating that the parents must be deceased or disabled for us to claim her?? I looked up the laws regarding this and they clearly state that if the Grandparents were the sole providers for the child I qualified? I then requested a hearing by a judge. Can you please help me..

D (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 15:04 Permalink

Hi Greg,
I am SO sorry to hear about this situation. This is very unfortunate, but unless you have legally adopted your granddaughter, she may not be able to get auxiliary benefits on your account. This is because her parents haven't been found disabled by the SSA, and they aren't deceased. Your best bet would be to continue the adoption process so she is legally your child. I am very sorry about this unfortunate situation! Good luck.

Fred (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 15:05 Permalink

My ex receives SSD benefits she had custody of our daughter till 2010 my daughter received a check from her mothers as a dependent she no longer visits our daughter for the past 2 1/2 years how would I find out if she is still collecting here check because it was never changed to go with my daughter when I received custody 5 years ago and for the first time I am now taking my ex for child support I herd that that check would be considered her child support payments

D (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 15:06 Permalink

Hi Fred,
You can call the SSA at 1-800-772-1213 to find out if she is still receiving benefits. If she is then you can get the check transferred to you. As for child support, it will depend on the court. Some courts allow disability checks to be child support payments, and some will require additional payments. It will all depend on what Child Services chooses in your situation.

Mindy (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 15:06 Permalink

I am curious about my situation. I am married to a man who has a son by a previous relationship. My husband has had a small amount of contact with the child, at the mothers behest. My husband pays child support. The mother has 4 children by 4 men, and IMHO has attempted to have children for "child support checks". My husbands father is an extremely wealthy man (multi-millionaire many times over). She got pregnant and then left my husband and started making financial demands from my husband and his family. Then when she realized that she wasn't getting anything (she asked for cars, house, money, etc) then she shut my husband out of the child's life and continued in a similar pattern with THREE other men, and she has never had a job since she quit high school. My husband has attempted to be a part of the child's life but she made it so difficult. he does pay about $500 a month child support, and even though his father is wealthy, we are not. My husband makes about $11 an hour and we do not receive any type of assistance or gifts from his father. I have a good job and I make almost $75K per year, but needless to say, we live a comfortable yet simple life. Now, I am disabled. I have been disabled from birth but I am 43 now. I have managed to work in spite of my visual impairment, but at this point we know that I will be on disability soon. I am curious about my step sons mother trying to claim a portion of my disability for him. She has tried everything in the past to try and collect more from him and from me. On our honeymoon, we were notified that she was taking us to court to raise child support based on my income. She did not get it though. I fully believe that my step son should be cared for and receive support, but with her history of seemingly believing that everyone owes her some form of payment, I am a bit freaked out by the thought of her collecting on me. I don't know her and I don't know my step son who is 12, and I just find it rather odd that strangers could collect on me, and benefit from a genetic condition that I personally have struggled with, and yet worked and made a career for myself. And she has made a career out of making babies for check and collects on me. I'm not sure how I feel about this. We live in Texas. If anyone has any input on this, please advise.

Gordy (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 15:06 Permalink

Hi Mindy,
His ex will have absolutely no claim to your disability benefits. The child is not your own, and it is not your step-child. Your husband is not receiving disability benefits, you are. So the child has no direct relation to you, meaning that she cannot get benefits on his behalf. I hope this helps!

Nicole (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 15:06 Permalink

I am the disabled individual with fas ptsd adhd and bipolar due to my adopted mothers abuse cps had took me at 14 due to emotional distress i had went to the pysch for a year at 14 state from 15 till 17 and got tranfered to a non profit group home at 17 till i reached 21 total of 8 years when I turned 18 my mother was still receiving my checks and I was no longer living with her and had no knowledge at the time of anything that was going on until I started living with another person who she was paying money for me to live there when that person became my payee that's when the overpayment letter started coming to the house for 7,735,000 for inkind support I dont understand non of it and I found out I had a Bank account that went over 2,000 im being responsible but dont have no other income but ssi and ssd under my adopted mother she never told ssi I no longer lived there I didnt understand alot nor find out because I was to scared and I have emotional disorders and ptsd I just never wanted to talk last year she closed the account and left a dollar to the state and she never provided nothing for me is she responsible ? I had the group home letter stating the dates I was there but nothing else and I have an appointment with ssi for a confrence but I dont know what they gonna say

D (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 15:06 Permalink

Hi Nicole,
I am so sorry to hear about this situation. It seems extremely complex. I think your best options would be to either schedule an appointment with the SSA at 1-800-772-1213 to try to figure out how to get rid of the payment, or possibly speak with a disability attorney. I hope you can get everything sorted out!

Tiffany (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 15:07 Permalink

My son is 22 months old. He has been approved for SSI. I had to cut my hours in half at work for all of his therapy. Do I qualify for a check other than his?

D (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 15:07 Permalink

Hi Tiffany,
I'm sorry, but you will not be eligible for disability benefits unless you have a disability.

Val (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 15:08 Permalink

my husband just recently found his father's side of the family. His dad died when he was around nine or ten. His aunt told him that he may be able to receive survivors benefits from when he died; the other siblings did all those years ago. It was between 1985-1987. He is 37 now. I am trying to figure out what form we need to fill out and what steps to take. Also, his dad was a veteran, too. Please help.

D (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 15:08 Permalink

Hi Val,
I do not believe that your husband would be eligible for survivors' benefits anymore. Children are only eligible if they are under the age of 18.

Joyce (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 15:09 Permalink

My nephew was born in Ma and moved to Arizona. He is having a very difficult time paying his bills. He has been offered a fantastic job back in MA that would get him out of debt. He is coming but his wife refuses to come and she is keeping all of their 4 children with her. He will be sending money to her on a weekly basis for hiis children. My question is that she has been talking about divorce and if she goes through with the divorce can she say that my nephew deserted his children? My nephew cannot afford a lawyer.

D (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 15:09 Permalink

Hi Joyce,
I am sorry, but I cannot offer any advice on the situation. We really only help people with questions on applying for Social Security disability benefits.

Tiffany (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 15:09 Permalink

My child was born with one hand,can she get disability?

D (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 15:09 Permalink

Hi Tiffany,
I am not sure how this would work as a child applying for disability benefits. Adults would not be eligible for disability benefits if they lost one hand in most instances. They must either lose both hands, or lose one arm from the shoulder down. You'll need to contact the SSA at 1-800-772-1213.

Angie (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 15:10 Permalink

A family member has co-guardianship of her husband's grandchildren. Even though the youngest has never been diagnosed autistic, she has asserted and claimed he is for several years. Somehow she is drawing SSI for the child. How does that work? The biological parents do not know about the SSI and it is quite possible that the children's biological grandfather does not know as his wife is the one who filed for guardianship and child support. Neither the step-grandparent or biological grandparent are on any government assistance (he works and she does not). Forgive my ignorance as this is the first time we have dealt with something like this and just want to make sure that the children are legally cared for and that the biological parents have an opportunity to straighten up and get their children back

D (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 15:10 Permalink

Hi Angie,
This sounds like a tough situation. Autism is pretty hard to get disability benefits for, so it seems odd that he can receive SSI if he does not have any kind of cognitive disability. Perhaps he has been diagnosed with something you are not aware of?

Danielle (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 15:11 Permalink

i was approved for what I think is SSDI at 1900 a month about 8 months ago. I was a teacher with a decent salary for 13 years. I have 2 children but never applied for them. Can I still apply and how much should they get? Would it be retroactive back to when my benefits were started or is it that op late to get them retroactive benefits? I called the ss office and they told me to come in with their birth certificates. Since I am so sick from the cancer I don't want to waste my time and energy if they're not eligible. Please advise.

D (not verified)
Thu, 11/05/2015 - 15:11 Permalink

Hi Danielle,
So long as your children are under the age of 18, you should be able to get benefits for them. I would definitely recommend it if they are minors.

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