Social Security survivor payment arrived day before daughter's death - can I use it for her bills?

You should be fine using that payment. The December 31st deposit was for December 2024, when your daughter was still alive. Those benefits were rightfully hers for that month. As her Representative Payee, you're still responsible for using those funds for her expenses, including her final bills.What you cannot keep is any payment that might come for January 2025, since she wasn't alive for any part of that month. When you notify SSA of her death (which you should do as soon as possible even without the death certificate), they'll stop future payments.Just make sure you keep records of how you spent the December payment in case there are any questions later.

Thank you so much. That's what I thought but I've been so stressed about doing something wrong. I'll pay her bills and keep all the receipts carefully organized. Do you know if I need to file a final Representative Payee report? I usually do the annual one in July.

Call them NOW!!!! Don't wait for the death certificate! If you don't report it and they keep paying, THEY WILL COME AFTER YOU for every penny paid after her death!!!! I went through this with my uncle and they kept depositing for 3 months before I could get the death certificate. I had to pay back over $4,500!!!!The Dec payment should be fine but DON'T TOUCH ANY OTHER PAYMENTS!!!!

This advice is partially incorrect. You absolutely should report the death to SSA as soon as possible, but you don't necessarily need the death certificate to do an initial report. However, you WON'T have to pay back the December payment since it was for a month when she was alive. The person above is right that any payments for January 2025 onward would need to be returned.

my mom passed 2 yrs ago and we had similar situation with timing. the december payment is fine because she was alive in december. thats what the payment is for. but dont touch ANY payments that come after that!!!! when you do tell them shes gone theyll stop everything

I'm so sorry about your mom. And thank you for sharing your experience - it helps to know others have navigated this before. I definitely won't touch any payments that might come after this December one.

Are these Survivors benefits or SSDI benefits? The rules are different depending on what kind of benefit she was receiving. If she was getting Survivors benefits as a disabled adult child, that complicates things because those terminate upon death. You should specify what kind of benefit this was so people can give more accurate advice.

She was receiving Survivors benefits since my husband (her father) passed away in 2018. She became eligible as a disabled adult child then. Does that change anything about the December payment?

The type of benefit doesn't actually change the answer about the December payment. Any Social Security payment received for a month when the beneficiary was alive (even if just for part of the month) belongs to that beneficiary. Since your daughter was alive for all of December, that payment is properly hers, and as her Representative Payee, you should use it for her expenses, including final bills.

You should be aware that as a Representative Payee, you'll need to complete a final accounting of how the funds were used. Form SSA-6230 is typically used for this. You should also return any saved funds that belonged to your daughter to SSA, but only after all her legitimate expenses are paid. The December payment is legitimately hers and can be used for her expenses.Also, I'd recommend calling SSA to report the death even without the death certificate. You can provide the certificate later, but getting the report on file now is important. Obviously their phone lines are always jammed, which is frustrating when dealing with this on top of your grief.

I've been trying to get through to SSA about my mother's benefits for weeks with no luck. I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to a real person at SSA within 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. Saved me hours of redial frustration when I was at my wit's end. Might help with reporting your daughter's passing without more delay.

so sorry for your loss... when my brother died last year the bank actually froze his accounts before we even could tell ss he died... they somehow knew!! maybe different in your situation with rep payee account tho

Thank you for your condolences. That's interesting about the bank freezing accounts. Since I'm the Rep Payee, the account is actually in my name

WAIT!!!!! Is this a dedicated Rep Payee account or your personal account? If it's a dedicated account, the bank might freeze it once they find out about the death!!!! You should transfer the money out NOW to pay those bills before they freeze it!!!!

This advice could cause problems. Representative Payee funds should always be used according to SSA rules, and emptying the account preemptively could look suspicious. The correct approach is to pay the legitimate expenses as they come due, maintain records, and file the final Representative Payee report. Banks typically don't automatically freeze properly designated Representative Payee accounts upon death of the beneficiary.

I work with seniors and see this situation fairly often. Here's what you need to know:1. The December payment is for December, when she was alive, so it rightfully belongs to her and should be used for her expenses2. You need to notify SSA of her death - you can do this by phone and then provide the death certificate later3. You'll need to complete a final Representative Payee report (typically Form SSA-6230)4. Keep detailed records of how you spend every penny of that money5. Any funds remaining after all her legitimate expenses are paid will need to be returned to SSADon't stress too much about the December payment - you're using it exactly as intended: for her benefit and her expenses.

Thank you so much for this clear breakdown. I'll follow these steps exactly. I've tried calling SSA three times this week but can't get through - keep getting disconnected after waiting on hold. I'll keep trying though.

just wondering but did u already tell the funeral home? they sometimes report deaths to social security when they file the death certificate

Yes, the funeral home said they would report it as part of their process, but they also mentioned it could take several weeks with the current backlog. I'm still going to try to report it myself though, just to be safe.