Can I claim Social Security spousal benefits with divorce decree but no marriage certificate after 32-year marriage?

You don't necessarily need the actual marriage certificate. SSA will accept secondary evidence when primary evidence isn't available. Since you were married for 32 years and have a divorce decree that recognizes the marriage, you'll likely be fine. Bring documents that show you lived as a married couple - joint tax returns from early in your marriage, property deeds listing you both as 'husband and wife', birth certificates of children showing both of you as parents, and definitely bring that divorce decree which acknowledges the marriage existed. The key is showing you had a ceremonial marriage that was recognized legally, even if the paperwork wasn't properly filed.

Oh thank you so much for this info! I do have our tax returns going back to the 1990s showing 'married filing jointly' and our children's birth certificates listing us both as parents. And the divorce decree definitely acknowledges our marriage date and length. Do you think I should try to get statements from the witnesses who attended our ceremony too? I'm just so worried they'll reject my application.

dont worry bout it i had a similar situaition... my hubby and i were maried for 15 years but we lost the certificate in a house fire. they accepted our tax returns and insurance policy as proof when i filed for my widow benefits last year. SSA isnt as strict as ppl think but u might have to talk to a supervisor if the first person gives u trouble

Your divorce decree should suffice as proof of marriage. The SSA treats a divorce decree as legal acknowledgment that a marriage existed. If you bring the decree plus supporting documentation (tax returns, property deeds, children's birth certificates), you should be fine. Just be prepared to formally request that SSA accept secondary evidence of your marriage. There's actually an official process for this where you complete a Statement of Marital Relationship (Form SSA-754) along with statements from blood relatives who knew of the marriage (Form SSA-753).The most important thing is that your marriage was recognized in Wyoming regardless of whether the certificate was properly filed. SSA deals with this situation fairly regularly, especially with older marriages where documentation wasn't as rigorous.

This ⬆️ Make sure to ask specifically for those forms! Had to do this with my mom's situation last year. The regular claims rep didn't mention these forms until we specifically asked about the secondary evidence process.

I WENT THROUGH ABSOLUTE HELL with SSA over a similar issue!!! My ex and I were married in a small ceremony in 1989 and the pastor never filed the paperwork. When we divorced in 2022, the court accepted other evidence of our marriage. BUT when I applied for divorced spouse benefits, the first TWO SSA representatives rejected my application claiming I wasn't \

Oh no, that sounds awful! Did you eventually get backpay for the months you were fighting with them? I'm really worried about having to go through a lengthy appeal process since I was counting on starting these benefits next month for my budget.

Happened to a friend - they had to get statements from family members who attended the wedding. SSA has forms for this. Took extra time but worked out fine in the end.

I had so much trouble reaching anyone at SSA when I had a similar documentation issue last year. Spent literally 4 weeks trying to get through on their 800 number, always disconnected after waiting for hours. I finally used Claimyr.com which got me connected to an actual SSA agent in under 10 minutes. Totally worth it to avoid the phone frustration. There's a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Once I got through to someone, they explained the secondary evidence process and it was actually pretty straightforward. The key was getting to talk to a knowledgeable representative who could explain my options.

I've never heard of that service before. I was planning to just show up at my local office but the wait times for appointments are ridiculous right now (8 weeks out!). Maybe I'll try this instead since I need answers quickly.

My aunt went thru this exact scenario! She brought her tax returns + insurance policy + the divorce decree and they approved her claim, but it took talking to a supervisor. The first person she dealt with was super rigid about

Update: I went to my local SSA office today and spoke with a claims representative. She said my divorce decree plus tax returns should be sufficient evidence, but she also gave me the SSA-754 form mentioned earlier to complete just to strengthen my case. She said as long as my divorce decree specifies the date and length of marriage (which it does), I should be fine. Thanks everyone for your help! Such a relief knowing I'm not the only one who's faced this issue.

That's great news! Make sure to keep copies of everything you submit, and get the name of any representatives you speak with. If you run into any issues, don't hesitate to ask to speak with a technical expert or supervisor who might be more familiar with the secondary evidence rules. Good luck with your application!

That's wonderful news Miguel! I'm so glad you got this sorted out quickly. Your situation is actually pretty common - many people from older marriages run into this exact issue where the ceremony happened but the paperwork wasn't filed properly. The fact that your divorce decree acknowledges the marriage date and duration is really the key piece here. For anyone else reading this thread with similar concerns, Miguel's experience shows that SSA does have processes in place to handle these situations. The secondary evidence route with forms SSA-754 and supporting documentation like tax returns really does work. Thanks for updating us on how it went!