My fiancé and I married recently 12/22/22. My daughter, unrelated to him, has been granted ssi for her profound autism disability since 2012 and currently resides in Residential private school. She is 13. My new husband and I are filing separate this tax season and for future taxes and we share no bank accounts, any accounts, homes, bills, and my daughter is my sole and ultimate responsibility not his. His mail goes here and we do live together , but he travels for work frequently and again the bills of the house and the house alone is under my name. I'm not legally changing my name until she is 18. Do I need to report this change to ssi? If i do will she loose ssi? There is no financial change ? Thanks !!
Hi. The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) regulations are too complex for me to be able to give you a definitive answer, but you definitely should report your marriage to Social Security. But, if your daughter isn't living with you and your husband, then his income and resources shouldn't count against your daughter when determining her SSI eligibility.
However, even if your daughter only comes home on weekends, holidays, or school vacations, Social Security may classify her as living at home for purposes of deeming of income and resources from her step-parent. In that event, your daughter's SSI eligibility would depend in part on your and your husband's income and resources. For more information, refer to the following Social Security website: https://www.ssa.gov/ssi/spotlights/spot-deeming.htm.
Best, Jerry