27th years of marriage. seperate for past 4 years. i live in home we share. my spouse recently became disabled and received approval for SSI Disability. recieved a back check of 42,000.00 . i askex if he could give me 2000.00 for a personal bill. he said no. am i actually entitled to any of that back settlement.

Hi,

No, at least not as far as Social Security law is concerned. You'd probably have ask a lawyer whether or not you could claim any of your husband's settlement by other means.

Under Social Security law, a spouse is not entitled to any part of their spouse's actual Social Security benefits. However, if a spouse meets the requirements they can potentially qualify for a spousal benefit from Social Security. Spousal benefits are auxiliary benefits, meaning that they're paid in addition to the worker's Social Security benefit.

There isn't enough information in your question for me to be able to determine whether or not you could qualify for spousal benefits, but the requirements are outlined in the following section of Social Security's handbook: https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.03/handbook-0305.html.

Best, Jerry