If you’re a disabled parent, it can be hard to know how to support yourself and your children. Suffering from a serious disability can make it hard to work, which can leave your family in a vulnerable financial position. While you might be aware that you can receive disability payments due to your disability, you might not know that your child may also be entitled to receive disability payments.
However, for your child to receive payments for your disability, there are specific requirements that must be met. Read how your children can receive disability payments for your disability and get advice for hiring a lawyer to help with the application process.
Calculating Benefit Amounts
For your child to receive disability payments, your child must be 18 years old or younger, or 19 and a full-time student. They also must be financially dependent on you, their disabled parent. Those are the basic requirements for a child to receive a disability payment.
If your child meets these qualifications, you can move on to calculating how much their payments might be. When your child is a minor, they will be entitled to 50% of your monthly payments, which are determined by your work history and how much you’ve paid into the Social Security system. For example, if your work history entitles you to a $1,200 monthly SSDI payment, then your child can receive a $600 monthly disability payment.
Survivor’s Benefits
Children of disabled parents who have passed away may also be entitled to a monthly disability payment. However, they still must meet the general eligibility requirements. If a surviving child is eligible for benefits, they can receive 75% of what their parent’s monthly SSDI payment would have been.
What if You’re an Adult?
It is also possible for an adult child of a disabled parent to receive disability payments under certain circumstances. The main requirement is that the child must be disabled. If the disabled child is still a minor, or their disability began before the age of 22, then their disability payments will be calculated using their disabled parent’s work history.
This can lead to much higher payment amounts than what might be granted through Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
Maximum Benefits for Families
If your child is receiving disability payments at the same time you’re receiving SSDI payments, then you will be subject to something known as the maximum family benefit (MFB). The MFB limits the amount of disability payments a single household can receive in a month. Typically, the MFB will be 150% of the disabled parent’s payment amount. However, there are a few additional MFB requirements you should know about.
First, the MFB can’t be higher than 85% of your average earnings. Second, benefits paid to a divorced spouse will not count towards the MFB. Finally, the MFB can never drop below your monthly SSDI amount.
You should also understand that if your family’s payments ever exceed the MFB, it is your child’s payment amount that will be reduced, not your SSDI.
Secure Disability Payments for Your Children
Being approved for disability payments for your children is easier when you have legal help, which is why you need an attorney from The Law Offices of Dr. Bill LaTour. The Bill LaTour legal team is very familiar with rules of receiving disability payments and can help your child get the additional support that they need.
We’ve been helping disabled individuals in the Greater Los Angeles area, the Inland Empire, and Orange County get the disability benefits they need for years. Call Dr. Bill LaTour and his team today at 800-803-5090 or fill out our online form to schedule a free consultation.
