Child Survivor Benifits Going Back 10 Years

[JustinO]

I just recently filed a claim for child survivor benefits for my daughter. Her mother died in 2000. SSA said that they could only pay 6 months back benefits from the date of filing. Is there anyway to get benefits paid from the time of her mother's death? I just didn't know she was eligible for benefits till recently, know one ever said anything. Do I need to hire an attorney or is even that pointless?

[LawResearcherMissy]

Is there anyway to get benefits paid from the time of her mother's death?

No. Policy is 6 months of back benefits, and suing will not change that.

[Janke]

Pointless.

However, if you think the law is unjust and you think that a court will declare the law unconstitutional for some legal reason and have the money to pay legal fees and can find a lawyer willing to take it on, file a lawsuit.

Don't hold your breath waiting though. It is unlikely that any government entity is going to uphold a decision to speed up the date of insolvency of the Social Security "trust funds".

Do you work? If so, SSA has been sending you a Social Security statement for quite a number of years. In that annual form, there is an explanation of survivor benefits. Who else was supposed to tell you about it?