I am 56 years old and just got approved for disability in April 2017. My Ex husband was violently murdered in Oct. 2016 and I have applied for and been denied widows benefits. The reason I was denied was that we weren't married for 10 years. We started living together in 1979, got married on Dec. 29, 1983 and filed for separation and started living back together, but went thru with the divorce on Dec. 30, 1985. So in NC we weren't married for 10 years, but we moved to Georgia which was a common law marriage state until Jan. 1, 1997. We lived in Georgia as man and wife from 9/1989 until 8/2001. We lived together, worked together, and had a baby together there in 4/1996. Moved back to NC in 2001 and in 2006 we separated and I moved out. From what I have been reading on NC and Georgia law is that if you lived as man and wife in Georgia you were common law married and you need to get a divorce before remarrying, and that NC does recognize the common law marriage. What do I need to do to be able to receive his benefits?

Hi,

The first step would be to either file an appeal of your previous disallowance if it was dated within the last 60 days, or file a new claim. In either case, you will need to submit evidence adequate to convince Social Security that you had established a common law marriage under state law that lasted for at least 10 years. For state law requirements, refer to this section of Social Security's operations manual: https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0200305075. For Social Security development procedures and evidence requirements, refer to this section: https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0200305065.

Best, Jerry