Hi, my brother passed away July 5,2017. We were told by the funeral home they would contact SS. No family member had access to his checking account, he had no savings. We never had any knowledge of his banking since he was a very private person. He had monthly bills that were automatically deducted from his account. It appears that SS was never notified and since we were not aware of who his creditors were to notify them they kept drawing on his account. Now SS is claiming that 2 months is owed back to them. Since no family member drew or wrote any checks against his account and the creditors drew on his SS checks are we liable for their mistake? Also he had no estate. Thank you for your help!

Hi,

I'm sorry for your loss.

You and other family members would only be liable for repayment of up to the value of any assets that you received from your brother's estate. Even if there was no formal estate, any distributes of his property could be liable for such repayment. If you and other family members received no such distributions, you would not be liable for repayment unless a family member is eligible for survivor benefits on your brother's Social Security record. In that event, Social Security could recover the overpayment from their survivor benefits.

Best, Jerry