Since your child who receives SSI child disability is not able to purchase their own items, you will be a representative payee for them. This means that you are held responsible for using the funds in an appropriate manner and to also keep records of how you spend the payments in case a representative of SSA wants to check. This is something that your Milwaukee disability lawyer should have discussed with you when helping you file a claim.
You will find that the standard monthly benefit payments should be managed in one manner and retroactive benefits or significant back payments can be handled differently.
Regular monthly SSI Child Disability benefit payments.
The child’s regular payments for SSI child disability can be deposited into your checking or savings account, as well as a money market account. However, as your disability attorney in Milwaukee, WI should have explained, you still need to track the way that you spend this money and have it ready to report when the SSA requires.
There are a number of things that you can use these monthly benefit payments on. Basically, daily support needs and living expenses will fit in these. Some of these include:
- Personal comfort items
- Furnishing
- Child care expenses
- Medical care
- Insurance costs
- Shelter
- Clothing
- Food
Remember that these should only be used for the child who receives the SSI child disability, not any other children in the home. If you do not use all the monthly benefits, you must save them to use in the future, rather than splurging on something that is not on the allowed list. You should talk to your disability attorney in Milwaukee, WI if you are uncertain about how you should handle the funds.
Many families find that while it is not required, they will choose to have a separate account for the SSI payments. This ensures that they have all the records in one place and that they will be able to show it to SSA when the time comes. Your Milwaukee disability lawyer will be able to help you out if there are any problems with your records during an SSA review.
Dedicated Accounts Of Back Payments For SSI Child Disability in Milwaukee, WI
If your child has recently been accepted for SSI child disability benefits and they are due back payments, you as the parent will need to open up a bank account that is dedicated just for those funds. In addition, those funds are going to have some specific restrictions attached to them including:
- The account needs to be an account, either money market, savings, or checking, that is separate from the one you use for the regular SSI benefits for your child.
- The funds that are in the account needs to be maintained separately from other funds, even from the monthly deposits that you receive on behalf of your child for SSI.
- The back payments funds can never be used to purchase CDs, bonds, stocks, or any type of investment.
- The account needs to have your child as the owner of the account. You can be an authorized user of the account, but the funds and interest must be in your child’s name.
Funds in this account can be used for slightly different things compared to regular monthly benefits. You can use these funds for medical treatment, educational expenses including job training costs, and special equipment, nursing assistance, therapy expenses, or costs to modify your home for your child. If you hired a Milwaukee disability lawyer to help with the claim, you can use these funds to help pay their legal fees as well.
Spending SSI Checks in Milwaukee, WI
In order to make sure that no one is misusing the funds for SSI child disability, the SSA will conduct periodic checks to see the spending practices of the representative payee. These will often happen once each year, but it is possible that the SSA will require you to report the spending ever three months while your child is eligible for benefits.
It is very important that you spend your child’s benefit payments in the proper manner. Failure to do so could terminate their benefits or you will be required to reimburse the funds that were misused. If you are uncertain about whether you are spending the money properly, talk to an SSA representative or a disability attorney in Milwaukee, WI.
If you are looking to file a claim for SSI child disability, make sure to contact Tabak Law LLC. We have 45 years of experience helping plaintiffs get disability claims approved, including disability for your child. Contact us today to get started.