Tom McCutcheon – Attorney at Law
Q: My mother was married to my father for nearly 20 years and he died 4 years ago. My mother is disabled and draws a small amount of social security but has been told that she could draw widow’s benefits. She is not receiving widow’s benefits, how can she draw widow’s benefits?
Andy
Muscle Shoals, AL
A: In order to qualify for widow’s benefits under the Social Security Administration Rules the first requirement is that the marriage have been for 10 or more years and the deceased spouse having worked and paid in to social security (what you see deducted from your paycheck as FICA) for those 10 or more years.
Secondly, the widow (or widower) must be 50 or older and the deceased spouse must have died within 7 years of the claim for benefits.
What you are really looking at is a comparison between two earnings records to see who would draw the largest amount per month of social security benefits. The more money you earn the more money you pay into social security and the more money you pay into social security the more money you get back every month up to a maximum amount that changes typically every year. People that make over $118,500.00 a year do not have to contribute to social security on earnings above that amount. Those people get a raise every year at the point where they have paid their FICA taxes on the first $118,500.00 they made and do not have to pay any more after that.
If your father’s earnings were higher than your mother’s and your mother is disabled and 50, an application for widow’s benefits should be filed and it should be granted giving your mother the benefit of your dad’s payments into the social security system.
One thing that my law firm does that is a little different than what some other law firms do that handle social security disability claims is we file initial application for our clients. We feel that this helps focus the case for a positive resolution and we also realize that helping people from the beginning gives us a loyal client. If your mother needs help with her claim, tell her to call us and we will help you file her application at no charge, we will be glad to help. Of course with all social security cases that we handle, we charge the standard 25% rate capped at $6,000.00 for past due benefits and are only paid at the end of the case if we are successful in helping our client actually receive money.
Buckle up and drive safely.
McCutcheon & Hamner, P.C.
2210 Helton Drive
Florence, Alabama 35630
Telephone: 256-764-0112
Facsimile: 256-349-2529
