[jllambert]

We are about to adopt our Baby "G". Her Bio-father passed away in December. I was wondering if she qualifies for SSI death benifits, and if so would she still receive those benifits after adoption? We are pretty sure she will not qualify for adoption subsidy since she is under two, is not a sibling to any of our adopted children, and has no special needs at this time.
Thanks in advance for any info you can give! We are in the State of Texas!

[greenmama]

Once adopted, she wouldn't qualify for social security benefits from her father as he wouldn't be her father any longer...

[lovemy6]

Sorry, but the previous response isn't correct. If she receives SSI death benefits BEFORE she is adopted, she will continue to receive them AFTER she's adopted! I'll try to find the link on the soc security website for you.

[lovemy6]

Here you go:

Answer

I believe you have to be receiving SSI at the time of adoption in order to continue getting the monthly SSI. So if you adopt her and THEN apply for SSI for her, they may not allow it.

[cetalley]

Jllambert, his is an excellent question, with unfortunately ...not direct answers. In dealing with SSI benefits for survivors, it is a fine line to tow. If you go to the site suggested by "lovemy6" you will see an area, that says something like":What are the requirements for a survivor to recieve S.S. benefits?" Pay especially close attn:. to the 3rd line down. "under CERTAIN circumstances benefits CAN also be paid to stechildren...grandchildren..and adopted children! If it were I ...I would indeed check with the SSI ffice in your local area, and double check. There are many things tha have changed..due to the economy and lack of funds. If , say the child you are adopting, has no other biological parent, then the answer would depend on whether this child you seek to adopt, is indeed already recieving these benefits. Another factor you may wish to consider, if you and DH, make considerable amounts of income, you could very well be saying good bye to the benefits. So, I SUGGET YOU BE WISE...AND CHECK WITH THE ADMINISTRATION...NEVER CAN BE TOO SAFE...THE GOV. IS JUST LOOKING FOR WAYS TO CUT BACK...UNFORTUNATELY THESE WAYS ARE NOT ALWAYS WHAT IS BEST FOR THE GREATER GOOD! Sorry for the caps...just noticed, any way, I wish you luck...just check into everything ...first! Blessings...C.J.

[greenmama]

sorry i guess i was misinformed!

[jllambert]

Thanks for all the helpful info!
We really don't need the money and would not go to a great deal of trouble to get it, but thought that if she was suppose to get it it would make a great nest egg for her future!
Thanks again for the help and info!

[MenloAve]

Even if you don't technically need the money now, I think it would be nice to get it and put it aside for college or other investment for the child (if college isn't in the works). Then you would be able to say, "your birthdad worked for you to get this money....". Really, this isn't a handout from the government, this is tax money their birthfather paid to the government to provide some security...... (My opinion of course)

[EZ2Luv]

This is not as easy as one would think. Once adopted the way it is factored is they would go by the adopted parents now being the leagl parents. In a way I could see it as a nest egg but why would you want to collect a benefit from a birthparent? If you are NOW the parent? This i something that I will never understand. With all the talk about real parents and aparents reiteratng time and againthat they are the child's parents, why is it OK to for something like this. If a Bparent ever decided to make a claim on their taxes for their child that was adopted, the aparents would be up in arms. IMO if you adopt a child, you accept them as your own and decline outside benefits having to do with their bfamily. They are now your responsibility.
I think they factor in the afamily's income.

EZ

[mommytoEli]

Originally Posted by EZ2Luv

This is not as easy as one would think. Once adopted the way it is factored is they would go by the adopted parents now being the leagl parents.

I think they factor in the afamily's income.

EZ

this is not always true. we have children who had a parent pass away when they were very small. they received ssi benefits. they received them while in foster care, so when it was time for them to be adopted, the state used that ssi as part of the aap (adoption assistance package). so let's say child A was going to get $200 a month in aap, but were already receiving 50 a month in ssi, the child then would get 50 a month ssi, and 150 a month aap, for a total of 200. i had no say in the matter. if we wanted aap, it is the way it was going to be done. they did not care about our finanaces or the fact that legally the children would no longer be related to this parent after adoption. they still get it. at first i was bugged because ssi has their own rules about payee accounts at banks that are so specific it is kind of a pain. but when our state talks about going bankrupt and thinking about ending aap, ssi looks pretty good. lol.

op- were the father's parental rights terminated before he passed away? i only ask because if not, then i would *assume* dpss was already collecting benefits from the state in her name to offset the costs of her foster care. this is what they did in our case. dpss collected the kiddos' ssi for over 2 years while the kids were in care. when we adopted them, we took in a note from dpss that talked about switching the payee from dpss to me, in care of the children. it was super easy. i was there maybe less than an hour for 2 kids to take care of that and switching names and social security numbers. the ssi was probably the easiest part of the entire adoption. lol!