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.
Should you still speak with your ex-spouse's family, it would be appropriate to extend your condolences. However, if your presence in the services will ruffle some feathers, it would be better to express sympathies from a distance. Sending funeral flowers and cards will suffice.
Acknowledge the grief
But experts say that the passing of an ex-spouse or partner can be intense. Gravenson, for one, had to finally let go of any hope that her husband would tell her that the 20-plus years they spent together “wasn't nothing.” And, as Gravenson says, his death triggered grief over earlier losses.
The inheritance rights of an ex-spouse vary significantly from state to state and are subject to the laws governing them. Generally speaking, if a former spouse has not been listed in a will or other estate documentation, they may have minimal access to any assets upon their deceased partner's passing.
According to California's rules of intestacy, when a spouse dies, his or her estate goes to the surviving spouse, regardless of whether or not they were separated at the time of the death or in the process of divorce.
Legally you are not a widow. Once the divorce is finalized, you are no longer married. You do not have the legal rights of a widow and do not automatically inherit anything from his estate.
Any person with a previous marriage that ended in divorce is eligible if the ex-spouse was fully insured for Social Security benefits and the marriage lasted at least 10 years. A person with a previous marriage that ended in widowhood is also eligible if the spouse was fully insured.
If they qualify, your ex-spouse, spouse, or child may receive a monthly payment of up to one-half of your retirement benefit amount. These Social Security payments to family members will not decrease the amount of your retirement benefit.
What Happens If I Remarry? Generally, you cannot collect benefits on your ex-spouse's work record unless your second marriage ends by annulment, divorce, or death. Your SSI benefits payments may change based on your new spouse's record.
A divorced spouse can receive up to 50% of an ex-spouse's Social Security benefits if the marriage lasted at least 10 years and the divorced spouse is divorced at least two years, unmarried and at least 62. The benefit doesn't increase existing payments or reduce the ex-spouse's benefits.
There's no hard and fast rule when it comes to attending an ex's funeral. Deciding whether to go might depend on the circumstances around your relationship with your former partner. For instance, how did you break up? Did you stay in touch?
Your ex will not care whether you attend his funeral or not. Funerals are for you to mark the passing and begin the grieving process. You never have to go to a funeral unless you want to. If it will help your children with their grieving, as a mother you should consider going.
Most important of all, try to be a good listener. You cannot fix or cure their grief, or make it go away – but if they want to talk, then letting them talk about what they are going through, or about the the person who has died, may be the most helpful thing you can do.
If the current spouse doesn't mind it, ex-spouses can be included in obituary as well. There is no law governing this matter.
In general, the etiquette for funeral attire is the same for both men and women: business-type attire that is respectful and conservative. Err on the side of dressing up as opposed to dressing down. Black or another dark color is almost always appropriate.
If you do end up attending and are not close with the family, be sure to sit in the friend section and leave the family section open for family only, unless you are invited to sit with them.
Beneficiaries are currently searching for information on How Do I Receive the $16728 Social Security Bonus? Retirees can't actually receive any kind of “bonus.” Your lifetime earnings are the basis for a calculation that the Social Security Administration (SSA) uses to calculate how much benefits you will receive.
If you re-married and your second spouse is deceased, you qualify to claim benefits from either your first spouse if that marriage lasted at least 10 years, or your second spouse if you were married at least 9 months before they died.
There is no hard and fast rule on this. Generally, a claim can be brought at any time until a consent order is put in place. However, waiting too long after your divorce could make obtaining a share of your former spouse's retirement benefits more difficult, or even impossible.
Yes, you can. Notify the Social Security Administration that you were married more than once and may qualify for benefits on more than one spouse's earnings record. They will be able to tell you which record provides the higher payment and set your benefit accordingly.
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.
If you are married and you and your spouse have worked and earned enough credits individually, you will each get your own Social Security benefit.
No waiting period is required if you were previously entitled to disability benefits or to a period of disability under § 404.320 any time within 5 years of the month you again became disabled.
If you've worked and paid Social Security taxes for 10 years or more, you'll get a monthly benefit based on that work.
For the two years following the year of death, the surviving spouse may be able to use the Qualifying Widow(er) filing status. To qualify, the taxpayer must: Be entitled to file a joint return for the year the spouse died, regardless of whether the taxpayer actually filed a joint return that year.