Blended Families
wwnbw
member
so stinkin' mad!
wwnbw
member
BM txted me saying that we were going to get a letter for repaymet of social security benefits. She said to ignore it and that her case worker was going to take care of it. Well I just checked the mail and it says SS owes 6 months worth of benefits because of substantial work. It says BM/SS is entitled to payments starting in April. The payment slip has SS's name on it so he(us) is the one that would owe the money back. How is that even right?! She should have to pay it back! She is the one that I assume was abusing the system by getting a job! I really hope she gets it figured out and we don't owe money.
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Re: so stinkin' mad!
Are you willing to set up a fraud investigation? Because if SS has not received benefits but BM claimed them, that might be your only way out of trouble / repayment.
I would NOT ignore! Call the number and find out what happened. If you need to contact BMs caseworker, then that might be a follow up.
Sorry if that was confusing. We have full custody of SS. BM filed for social security a few years ago and told us that SS was enitiled to payments since he is her son. Social security started sending SS monthly payments. BM got a job for 6 months (Oct 2011-March 2012). Because she got the job she was making more money than was allowed. She has since quit the job because she is pregnant.
The letter says SS is entitled to payments agian (because she isn't working now) beginning April 2012. I just read on the letter that is says that they will just hold the benefits until it's paid off. I guess that's not the end of the world but we now count on that money and I still think she should have to pay it back. DH is going to call tomorrow.
SS is only 12.
Thanks! I will have DH look into this.
So why would they care if BM got a job unless she was committing fraud and claiming her income as head of household and that she had custody and control of SS? I think you're on a slippery slope here. The last thing I would ever do is be party to someone possibly scamming the government out of money. Unfortunately when they find out they can go to any means necessary to get the money back (garnish wages, liens on homes) I would call the number and find out exactly what qualified SS for those benefits.
Im guessing Bm added him to her case because it makes her eligible for a medical card or some other benefit. All of which is income/need based. If you and dh make too much to qualify and she is failing to report you have custody again you will have problems in the future. Just a thought.
You need to address this NOW!
First, why is he getting SS payments in the first place? Social Security, be it SSI or SSDI comes from being disabled. For a child, that means a whole lot of disability. So if he is anyway disabled enough to recieve SSI or SSDI, YOU - the custodial parent should be getting said payments DIRECTLY to help cover the costs of your SS's disability.
Even if SHE did the paperwork and is illegally recieving these payments, by YOU knowing that she is doing this, YOU ARE JUST AS LEGALLY LIABLE. Becuase you are helping her commit a federal fraud.
Second, if these payments are NOT SSI or SSDI, but another form of welfare, the above still stands. He is NOT ELIGIBLE for welfare because he is living with YOU, in a household that most certainly does not meet the Federal or State requirements to recieve funds.
You are still legally liable for committing fraud by not stopping her. The State could msot assurredly say that you are getting a kickback - HELL SHE COULD THROW YOU UNDER THE BUS WITH THAT ACCUSSATION.
At the very least, they can (and should) come back at both of you for repayment.
I do not care if this is the mother of your SS. YOU NEED TO CONTACT the appropriate agency immediately.
I worked for an organization that helped people get these benefits. There is such a limited pot of money and this woman is taking money out of the mouths of people who TRUELY need it.
What OP has described, her SS is getting auxilery benefits based on BM's disability. He is entitled to these benefits because she worked and paid into Social Security, It is in no way welfare and it doesn't matter who he is living with, he still gets them. The only stipulation is that if she is working and making too much to receive the benefits for a certain time period that makes him ineligible as well. OP, I work for SS and if you have general questions, feel free to PM me.
Thanks. I will see what happens after DH calls.
All of the bold.
But yes BM is on Social Security. It has NOTHING to do with me or DH. I don't know how she got the benefits because I had no idea she was disabled but I guess she must be. I don't think they should come after us for the money because SHE should have reported her work. We knew she was working but had no idea she was working more hours than she was supposed to be. She was the one getting a large social security check each month along with her paycheck from working so much so she should have to pay it back.
DH talked to someone from social security in the begining and that was never told to us but we do need it for SS. I said in a PP that we count on that money now. We can't afford to pay it back! We get child support for SS but it is a very small amount.
ETA: SS is entitled to that money so we would take/put it in savings even if we didn't need it. But we have four kids so believe me that money can be used somewhere! And having a 12 yo SS with very little child support isn't cheap so if I broke it down most of the money goes to his needs anyway. Clothes, shoes, sports, band, food etc.
On another board I am on this exact same situation happened, only in that poster's case it was over $20,000. She decided to get an attorney versed in Soc Security law to help her file the waiver and represent her at a hearing.
OMG
Thank you jesus ours isn't ANYWHERE near that amount!