Child’s entitlement to SSI benefits under disabled (non-custodial) dad?
Posted: June 30th, 2011 | Author: admin | Filed under: Travel For Disabled | Tags: Benefits, Child's, disabled, entitlement, noncustodial, under | 6 Comments »We live in Mo, and my son, who has severe cerebral palsy/seizures, receives $506/mo in CS from my ex. My ex was just approved for SSI because of a back problem, so he left a job that probably paid about $50-60,000/yr. Will he have to continue paying CS? Is my son entitled to SSI benefits because his dad is “disabled?” Even though my son is non-verbal, non-ambulatory and has intractable epilepsy, he has been declined SSI twice because our income (from my son’s step-dad) is too high — about $40,000/yr. I haven’t worked consistently because of my son’s medical issues. His dad lives 2+ hours away and keeps him only 2 days each month plus 1 week per year for our vacation and isn’t much help at all when there are medical issues and stressful things going on with my son. I’m worried that since the ex supposedly cannot lift my son any more (his wife can) that they will decrease their visitation even more, and I really need more help with him. Our child care plan in our divorce decree does not specify visitation because of my son’s medical issues, so I have nothing to enforce. It will cause problems (as it has in the past) when I have asked him to modify the child care agreement. What should I do next?
justmein, what is DDD? I do receive some respite funding through a local disability organization. They do not provide qualified people, only funding. It’s tough finding qualified people I can trust, so I mainly use family members. And of course, you don’t want to feel like you’re imposing on people, so we don’t ask any more than necessary.
Thanks, everyone, for your answers. In addition to reading your replies, I got on the SSA website and found a way to apply for benefits online. Thanks for encouraging me to take the first step.
Yes your son can receive SSI benefits.
Go to http://www.ssa.gov
and look under faq
you will still receive cs but it probably won’t be the amount you were getting before If I were you I would go back to court and have the amount modified and ask for a change in visitation they will not allow you to discuss any thing at the court date except what you are there for well at least that is how it is in Texas but you can not really force the dad to take him it just says that you have to make him available at the time he is to have possession and in our state if you live more than 100 miles apart he would only get him one weekend out of the month and 45 days in the summer less than 100 every other weekend and 30 days in the summer
you are probably stalking about SSDI for your ex
and yes there are dependent benefits
http://www.ssa.gov
he will still be required to pay CS–but the amount may change–i would hope it is at least the amount of the dependent beenfit
are you registered with DDD–they amy be able to help you get respite care
DDD = Division of Developmental Disabilities
Okay the CS will be decided by the court because he is a disabled father and your son may receive more income on his SSI because his income will be based off of his fathers income so you should look for an increase in the SSI payment but you may be entitled to more federal support if the income drops. A judge may decide that since the father is disabled and you are not then you will need to seek employment if you are not employed and could count the SSI as the father CS.
You othe question what is DDD
The Division of Developmental Disabilities serves more than 40,000 people with developmental disabilities including the following conditions mental retardation, cerebral palsy, autism, epilepsy, spina bifida, traumatic brain injuries and certain neurological impairments. Today over 37,000 people live in the community, while the remaining 3,000 live in seven state-run Developmental Centers (DCs).
If your ex left a job paying $50-60k per year, he is going to be drawing SSDI, not SSI. As you already know, strict income guidelines must be met to draw SSI. And if your ex husband earned $50-60k per year, he most likely paid into Social Security, and will be drawing off his own benefits, not the income based, poverty level Supplemental Security Income.
Your son, as a minor child of your ex, has every right to draw dependents’ benefits from dads SSDI benefits. But as the custodial parent YOU need to go in to the Social Security office and file a claim. Do it ASAP. Don’t be surprised if your ex hasn’t already filed this claim. Be sure to take your divorce and custody papers with you to the SSA office.
As for child support, it will probably be different. It all depends on how much dad’s SSDI check will be. In many cases, the dependent SSDI check is a bit less than the child support that was being paid, in some cases, a bit more. In any case, YOU, as the custodial parent, should receive a monthly check for your son, but only after you have filed a claim for it. Good luck.