Ex Spouse Passed Away... Have a minor Child together

Hello,

I am not Sure if this is this is correct section to ask this question. If not please feel free to move it.

I just had my ex-wife pass away a few days ago.

We where married 13 years.

We got divorced August of 2018.

We have one child together that is 8 years old that lives with me full time. I received full/ sole custody at the end of our divorce.

There are no other siblings of his.


She was 34 years old before she passed away.

I am 35 years old currently.


I have been on SSDI since 2013.

My child has been receiving benefits 1/2 half of my SSDI since 2013.


My questions since I am already on SSDI, my child which is 8 years old receives money under my SSDI, is my son able to receive survivors benefits for his mother that has passed away even with me on SSDI?

If he can survivors benefits, do we have to pick between him receiving my benefits like he is currently or can he receive both sets of benefits?

Is there a percentage or set amount my minor child can receive based on his mothers work record or how does that work?

Lastly. since I am divorced now, how do I go about proving that his mother has passed?

Can I legally get a death certificate?

If so where do I go to get that?

I live outside of Chicago, IL in Cook County if that makes any difference.

Thank you for any help provided!

Any question you have about Social Security is best asked at your local SSA office. I suggest you take a couple of hours off one morning during the week, go there and sit down with an SSA agent and go over all this.

Here's how you get the death certificate in IL:

Death Records

You'll probably need to submit copies of your decree and custody order. Might as well order 2 or 3 certified copies of the death certificate if you can. You might need more than one.

The SSA will probably have documentation of her death within a couple of weeks.

Vincent said:

My questions since I am already on SSDI, my child which is 8 years old receives money under my SSDI, is my son able to receive survivors benefits for his mother that has passed away even with me on SSDI?

Click to expand...

Possibly, and if the child is able to receive his deceased mother's SS survivor's bennies, he might just receive more than he does from your SSDI.

I suggest you make a call to Social inSecurity ASAP, and see what you can learn, and if you can make it happen.

Thank you both for your quick response!

I appreciate it.