Ask Larry

Am I Eligible For My Ex-Husband's Benefits?

Married 5 yes. Got divorced. Ex-husband never remarried. He passed away 6 yrs ago at the age of 62.
I did get remarried but got divorced.
I am 63. Am a eligible for his benefits please?

Hi. If you were married to your spouse for less than 10 years and if you were divorced from him at the time of his death, then the only type of benefits that you could qualify for from his Social Security record are mother's benefits. In order to qualify for mother's benefits, you would need to a) have your spouse's child in your care, b) the child must be either under age 16 or disabled, and c) the child must be eligible for Social Security child or disabled adult child benefits (https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.04/handbook-0416.html).

Best, Jerry

Posted: 
May 18 2023 - 12:51pm
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