Becca started a thread about things she wish she had known.
I wanted to add some things, but the thread is closed.
This statement is not necessarily true regarding survivor's benefits, as I have found out differently today:
I believe that amount differs, depending the work history/credits of the spouse you have survived.
HEADS UP! If you have SS doing direct deposit, keep in mind that they can mistakenly withdraw those funds from your account upon death of spouse, as was my case. So if you have already paid bills with that money, you are SOL! And they will take their sweet time rectifying the situation.
HEADS UP! When your spouse dies, for God's sake, make sure the dang doctor signs the death certificate ASAP! You cannot get any life insurance money, otherwise. Duh! I'm sitting on a mountain of money! NOT!
And don't forget, you must apply for survivor's benefits. It is not automatic and you will have to prove you are the spouse with a marriage certificate (original) if they do not have it verified on record to begin with. So if you are in the phase of applying for SSDI at diagnosis with your pALS, make sure that SS makes a copy of your original marriage cert for the record!
I'm not making this stuff up, folks! I would cry, but what good would it do! What a nightmare! Looking for my sanity... :lol:
I wanted to add some things, but the thread is closed.
This statement is not necessarily true regarding survivor's benefits, as I have found out differently today:
~ The max that you can get for you and your children is: $1348.00 per month. $674.00 for you and $674.00 will be split between however many children you have.
I believe that amount differs, depending the work history/credits of the spouse you have survived.
HEADS UP! If you have SS doing direct deposit, keep in mind that they can mistakenly withdraw those funds from your account upon death of spouse, as was my case. So if you have already paid bills with that money, you are SOL! And they will take their sweet time rectifying the situation.
HEADS UP! When your spouse dies, for God's sake, make sure the dang doctor signs the death certificate ASAP! You cannot get any life insurance money, otherwise. Duh! I'm sitting on a mountain of money! NOT!
And don't forget, you must apply for survivor's benefits. It is not automatic and you will have to prove you are the spouse with a marriage certificate (original) if they do not have it verified on record to begin with. So if you are in the phase of applying for SSDI at diagnosis with your pALS, make sure that SS makes a copy of your original marriage cert for the record!
I'm not making this stuff up, folks! I would cry, but what good would it do! What a nightmare! Looking for my sanity... :lol: