Unmarried parent died today. He was due to receive monthly SS payment next week. Can it be used to pay for funeral expenses?

My mom died Dec. 13th 2016 and she had no life insurance. I just received her va dependent indemnity compensation check for Dec. Can use this for her final expenses? If so, do I sign her check?

What Debralee said is true. The $250 is a survivor benefit. And more than likely, the SS office will know about his death before the 1st and will not post money into his account. My dad died Aug 24th and my name was on his account so I could view his payments. SS did not post a check in September to his account but to my mother's as the survivor.

That makes sense, Debralee. My father had a surviving spouse, so they paid it to her. What you wrote is the same thing that is in the link above. Since he wasn't married and had no dependents, there won't be the "death benefit." Thank you for pointing that out.

The death benefit is so small that it wouldn't bother me if SS stopped paying it. I guess there are some people that it helps, though.

Jessiebelle, the $250 goes to surviving spouse or dependent minor children only. My mother died this past May with no surviving spouse or minor children, there was no payment from social security. I was her executor.

BTW, it is important to understand that when it says to return the money for the month of death, it means to return any payment received during the next month. So since your FIL passed away Oct 10, you would need to return the check he receives in Nov if payment has already been stopped. The check he receives this month does not need to be returned, since it is for Sept. The small death benefit will be paid as described on the page.

Here is the scoop from SS site. It will clear any confusion. When a SS check is drafted, it is intended to cover the month before. For example, a check drafted in Nov is meant to cover the month of Oct. This page has the correct information. The part you asked about is in the second column.

http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10008.pdf

My MIL died at the end of August. Her Sept check hit the account and was withdrawn 2 days later. They government finds out very quickly about deaths and wants their money back!

To clarify, it needs to be paid back to SSA but would be given to the executor of the estate essentially, for distribution.

I posted the same question on Yahoo answers, and they said that the money WOULD need to be repaid back but that it could be made payable to the estate. The person who answered cited 32 years as a SS claims rep. Form SSA-1724 could be filled out and turned up to accomplish this. Thanks JessieBelle

I should have added that my father died a couple of years back on March 2. We were able to keep his final check, plus the small check written the next month. No one was on his account with him, so it was put with other money into an estate account that had to go through probate before passing to my mother. I hope someone's name is on your FIL's account so you'll be able to access the money faster, since it is needed.

If I understand right, the payment that is received during the month he died can be kept. He will also receive a small check next month -- about $250 -- that can be applied toward the burial expenses. I am sorry to read of his death. I do not know how you will be able to access the money unless there was another name on the account. Please let us know what happens. We learn much from each other.