Ask Larry

I just received approval for SSDI and wondering if I can get my 10 year old daughter child benefits. I am not married to her mother and we have separate homes but have shared custody of her and get along well. The child benefits would come in handy after my stroke as my income has taken a dramatic fall.

Thanks for your help
Steve

Hi Steve. Child benefits can potentially be paid when a parent is receiving Social Security disability (SSDI) benefits, if the child is either a) under age 18, or b) age 18 to 19 and in high school, or c) disabled due to an impairment that began prior to age 22. Sometimes, though, the family maximum benefit (FMB) payable on a person's SSDI account only allows the worker to be paid and not any eligible family members. You'll need to check with Social Security to see if the FMB on your record will allow child benefits to be paid.

Also, Social Security appoints a representative payee to handle benefit payments for minor children, and the representative payee is required to use the child's benefits for the child's current needs or save the benefits for the child's future needs. In a shared custody situation, only one parent can be appointed as representative payee, although the representative payee can be changed if circumstances change. Social Security generally selects the parent who has primary custody as representative payee for a minor child.

Best, Jerry