If Your Ex-Spouse Dies Without a Will
Generally, the law divides property between a legal spouse, parents, and blood-related or adopted children. While you could inherit from a will if you were legally married but estranged, such is not the case for an ex who dies without a will.
Social Security rules allow a qualifying former spouse to claim benefits based on the work history of a higher-earning ex. These benefits are worth up to 50% of that former spouse's Social Security benefit at full retirement age. However, if that former spouse dies, the benefit's value is worth up to 100%.
Yes, you can collect Social Security benefits based on your deceased ex-husband's record if you meet certain conditions: Marriage Duration: You must have been married to your ex-husband for at least 10 years. Age: You must be at least 60 years old (or 50 if you are disabled) to qualify for survivor benefits.
Who can get Survivor benefits. You may qualify if you're the spouse, divorced spouse, child, or dependent parent of someone who worked and paid Social Security taxes before they died.
Spouses and ex-spouses
Payments start at 71.5% of your spouse's benefit and increase the longer you wait to apply. For example, you might get: Over 75% at age 61. Over 80% at age 63.
Usually, the funeral home alerts Social Security when someone dies. If someone is already claiming spousal benefits — which are also available to ex-spouses in many cases — Social Security will automatically convert them to survivor benefits.
If her ex-husband is deceased, essentially the same eligibility rules would apply, except that she could get benefits as early as 60. By the way, you are right when you said that a woman whose ex-husband dies is technically not his widow. And Social Security law recognizes that, too.
The Bottom Line. If you were married to them for at least 10 years, you may be able to collect Social Security benefits based on your ex's work record. If you meet the requirements, you can receive benefits equal to as much as 50% of your ex's retirement benefit.
Impact of remarrying: If you remarry before age 60 (or 50 if disabled), you typically won't be eligible to collect survivor benefits from your former spouse. However, if the subsequent marriage ends, you may become eligible again.
In most states, there are safeguards built into the law to protect against the aforementioned scenarios. Unless the decedent expressly included their ex-spouse in their will or trust after the divorce was finalized, the ex-spouse will most likely not be entitled to an inheritance from the decedent's estate.
This is good news when former spouses are not on good terms. Your ex cannot “block” you from drawing your spousal benefit. In fact, he probably won't even know if you are drawing off him unless he calls SSA to ask.
No, under California law, if you are divorced, you are not considered a widow or widower when your former spouse passes away.
If the ex-spouse passed away without leaving a valid will, the distribution of their assets is governed by the state's intestacy laws. In most states, a divorced spouse is not considered an heir under intestacy laws and is not entitled to any of their ex's property.
If you have your ex-spouse's Social Security number, you can look up the former spouse's benefits information on the Social Security website.
With respect to spousal support (sometimes called alimony), the death of either the supporting party or the supported party terminates an existing spousal support order unless the parties have “otherwise agreed” in writing.
you're eligible for some of your ex's Social Security
wives and widows. That means most divorced women collect their own Social Security while the ex is alive, but can apply for higher widow's rates when he dies.
Have you heard about the Social Security $16,728 yearly bonus? There's really no “bonus” that retirees can collect. The Social Security Administration (SSA) uses a specific formula based on your lifetime earnings to determine your benefit amount.
A wife with no work record or low benefit entitlement on her own work record is eligible for between one-third and one-half of her spouse's Social Security benefit.
Seek Grief Support
Family members might not understand why you feel sad in the face of your ex-wife or ex-husband's death. You might not feel comfortable reaching out to your ex's family during their grieving process either. If you're remarried, you might feel awkward sharing your feelings with your current spouse.
If you are age 62 or older and were married to your ex for at least 10 years, you may be able to collect monthly payments equivalent to about one-third to one-half of your former spouse's Social Security benefit, as calculated from their lifetime earnings history.
Pensions don't automatically 'sort themselves out' when someone divorces or dies. It's possible that a spouse or another beneficiary might benefit. But the amount claimed depends on the type of pension, the age of the deceased and their beneficiaries.
If the spouses divorced, the marriage must have lasted 10 years. Each survivor benefit can be up to 100% of your benefit. The amount may be reduced if the women start benefits before their own full retirement age, but they don't have to share — the amount isn't reduced because you've had more than one spouse.
Ninety-five percent of never-beneficiaries are individuals whose earnings histories are insufficient to qualify for benefits. Late-arriving immigrants and infrequent workers comprise the vast majority of these insufficient earners.