My ex husband died 6 years ago. We had 2 children but they are older. We were married 9 years and like 3 weeks but together for 20 plus years. Can I receive his benefits for divorced spouse being one week shy of the 10 year mark? I wasn't even informed I could receive this at all until recently. My ex mother in law claimed for my son because he lived with her and never told me I could receive these benefits on my own. Even the social security office lady said I could receive them if it weren't for that one week difference. Could I fight this? I'm fighting my own disability have no income and have recently enrolled in college because I am trying to find a way to support myself. I can't get out to work because of health issues. I don't know where to turn anymore but I'm really trying to do the best I can. PLEASE HELP if you can. Thank you

Hi. You must have been legally married for at least 10 full years in order to potentially qualify for surviving divorced spousal benefits (https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.04/handbook-0403.html). A marriage of 9 years and 364 days or less does not meet the requirement.

Regardless, though, you are allowed to apply for benefits and receive a formal determination from Social Security. That would give you appeal rights if their determination is unfavorable. Based on your description, it sounds like the only ways that your claim might be successful is if you had a common law marriage leading up to your formal marriage, or if your divorce became legally final after the tenth anniversary of your marriage date.

Only certain states recognize common law marriages, and the state laws governing those marriages vary from state to state. Also, the laws on common law marriage in some states have changed over the years. You may want to review the following section of Social Security's operations manual to see if you think that you may have established a common law marriage: https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0200305075.

Otherwise, in some states there are various waiting periods from the time a divorce is granted until it becomes final. Those laws also vary from state to state and sometimes depend on the year in which the divorce was granted. Those state laws are described in the following section of Social Security's operations manual: https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0200305165.

Best, Jerry