Someone I know has just received a notice from Social Security regarding her deceased sister in laws benefits that were kept in a bank account. Her husband died about 10 months before his sister . There was a bank account with around 15,000 in the bank. When her sister-in law died, her bank sent the last check back to SSA. The problem is SSA wants all of the money that was in the bank back. It went to the conservator who was the deceased sister in law. Can SSA do this, if so why?

Hi,

I'm not sure that I fully understand the situation. Social Security wouldn't be able to reclaim any funds in a bank account other than Social Security payments that were directly deposited to the account. And, they would only reclaim them if they weren't due for some reason, such as the death of the beneficiary.

If the deceased person was the representative payee for another person and was holding that person's conserved funds in a bank account, then Social Security would try to ensure that the conserved funds were transferred to the person to whom they belong, or to their next of kin if they're also deceased (https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.19/handbook-1902.html).

Best, Jerry