Dear friend. I am 56 ( to be 57 april 30th), my partner of 34 years ( married 6), passed away march 6th. After driving 3 hours to be with him for over 2 months i fell ill and was unable to sighn the death certificate as i had no internet , so the guy at the funeral home bypassed me and contacted the estranged daughter ( havnt heard from her in 30 years). Even though i told the attendant at the funeral home that we were leagally married, he allowed the daughter to write divorced ( fraud), on the death cettificate and refused to change it. When i go to collect my partners social ( i am on disability), will this cause me problems( my partner was divorced from the daughters mom). Ive tried to call her and she will not return my calls...i have dedicated my life to my partner since i was 21 ( homebound with him 3 years starving to death) if i have money can u please aplly for my bennefits for me? Ss will not answer the phone, i have no internet, you cant go in person. Im getting scared. Also i applied with veterans in 2013 for aids and attendance, was approved 2018..( 2000.00 a month for a couple) till 2020 is 100,000.00 but the veterans keep playing games and ignoring me. I am all alone here..i lost all my friends carrying for my partner the last 8 years...please please help? I have a 10,000.00 plot here for my partner but the daughter has stolen his asshes...i am devastated...i kids walked away in 1990...i did it all on my own and was never paid a penny. He was a double ww-2 vet...and it was a badge of honor. Sir!!! God bless stay safe...can u help?

Hi,

I'm sorry for your loss.

Unfortunately, no one can apply for your benefits on your behalf. As long as you are a mentally competent adult you must file your own applications for Social Security benefits, and the only way to do that at present is by calling Social Security at 1-800-772-1213. I'm sure that their phone lines are extremely busy, so you'll need to be prepared for what's likely to be a long wait on hold.

Since you're under age 60 and unless you're disabled, it sounds like the only benefit you could currently qualify for is a one-time death benefit of $255 (https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.04/handbook-0430.html). However, if you are disabled then you could also apply for disabled widow's benefits. Otherwise, the earliest that you could potentially be paid monthly widow's benefits is when you reach age 60.

I don't think the fact that your daughter-in-law incorrectly listed your husband's marital status as divorced on his death certificate will cause you any problems, but if it does you'll just have to explain what happened to Social Security when you apply.

Best, Jerry