My ex-husband whom I was married to for 11 years has some kind of a lean on his SS payments where they take almost half. He told me he would be in his 80's before it was taken off his payments. If I were to apply for his benefits instead of mine or my current spouse would I have that lean on it too until it's paid off? His initial benefits were much more than mine.

Hi,

Social Security benefits can be garnished in limited cases as the result of a court order, such as for child support or payment of back taxes. If that's the situation, you would probably not be included in the court order, and your potential divorced spousal benefits wouldn't be affected.

On the other hand, if your ex was overpaid by Social Security at some point, and they are recovering the overpayment from his benefits, your could be considered secondarily liable for his overpayment. In that case, Social Security could propose withholding some or all of your potential divorced spousal benefits in order to recover your ex's debt. However, if his overpayment occurred at some time other than when you were married and living together, you could probably avoid any recovery from your benefits by filing a request for waiver of the overpayment.

Best, Jerry