Social Security benefits for children and students are significant, with over 3.8 million children receiving monthly benefits in October 2022 due to one or both parents being disabled, retired, or deceased. To qualify for benefits, a child must have either a parent who is retired or has a disability and is under 18 years old. If the child is a dependent, they can receive benefits on their earnings record as a dependent if they are married or have a child.
Eligible dependents include spouses, ex-spouses, dependent children or grandchildren, and dependent parents. A child’s benefits can be obtained by providing both parents’ Social Security Numbers (SSNs) and claiming the child as a dependent. However, the parents’ income and assets are counted, leaving them with little to no cash assistance. The child is the person with the legal right to receive these Social Security Benefits, and they are only taxable to her. These benefits are reported on her tax return.
A single parent can claim the child and must report the Social Security income, but since the child will have no income of their own, there will be no tax implications. If a single parent files a return claiming their daughter as a dependent without providing her SSN, the IRS will not allow the claim. In summary, children and students can receive Social Security benefits when their parents are disabled, retired, or deceased.
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📹 Mother-In-Law Is Wanting My Kid’s Social Security Numbers
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My ex MIL asked me for kids SSN when they were young. I was a little leery at first until she explained that she needed it for a life insurance policy in case something happened to her my children would be the beneficiaries. I gave it to her because I trusted her. That was about 20 yrs ago and she still carry’s the policy to this day.
My parents always gifted my siblings and myself, as well as our children, US Savings Bonds for birthdays and other occasions. For that they needed ssn’s. My kids, who are the youngest of the grandchildren, are now in their 30’s and are reaping the benefits of mature bonds. God bless you mom and dad, RIP.
My grandparents opened a 529 for me and I was able to finish college 100% debt free. I’m glad my grandad handled the account because my mom is not trustworthy whatsoever with money. I recently found out that she opened several credit cards in my name when I was a teenager and has racked up over $20,000 in debt. Completely ruining my credit. I’m at a loss for what to do now.
We have a wonderful neighbor that mows our lawn out of the kindness of his heart and he has two boys. We wanted to give them savings bonds for Christmas and their birthdays but we didn’t want to ask for their socials so instead we give them each an ounce of silver for their Birthdays and some cash for Christmas which gets added to their college funds. It’s a good solution and we’ve also given the silver ounces with the current year to graduates to commemorate the occasion and they always seem to really appreciate them.
From Leo: I can show you a couple of cases where step parents or mother in laws used the child’s social security number on their own failing debt. The kids credit was ruined when they were still in high school, and the kids never had anything to do with the scam. There are a lot of ways to gift a grandchild without needing the government issued social security number. Been doing it for years.
The mother in law probably means well, but the social security number will most likely not change over the years, and when the kids grow up they may not want their grandmother to know their personal security number. I know i would be very uncomfortable if my grandmother knew my security number. I would therefore wait till the kids are old enough to make this decision themselves, instead of doing something they might disagree with later.
Been listening to Dave for 3 days…have been depressed but man he lit a fire on me and I’m looking for a part time job now I am university. Want to do a master’s plus move to Us plus I am really about that debt free life thank you DAVE!!!!! I’m 24 from BARBADOS in the Caribbean and one lesson I learn is I need to live below my means and need to get some income coming in
It would be nice to hear both sides before jumping to conclusions and demonizing grandma for wanting to give money directly to the grand kids. Mom on the phone could be horrible with money and untrustworthy in doing right for the kids. Or their son, caller’s husband could be untrustworthy with the money.
This really bothers me. The mother-in-law needs to take a few steps back and let the parents walk hand in hand and do their job. If she wants to save for the children fine but it’s just not her place to try and take over like that. After 25 yrs of marriage and 3 grown children my MIL still hasn’t figured out that he’s married to me not her. Just realized I need therapy.
If the grand mother wants to list the child as a beneficiary on one or more of her accounts that is a good reason she may want their social security numbers. Nothing wrong with that. You should be able to trust your mother, mother-in-law, father, etc with this information just as much as your own spouse, unless they have given you reason not to.
My parents give our children money for the 529(educational savings) and I put it into their account. They didn’t have to open the account. I agree with Dave this is the safest option if she truly wants to fund an account. Red flags though if she puts up a stink despite this option and insists on getting those social security numbers.
I always say that when your dating someone make sure you are ok with joining the family the person your dating comes packaged with, and if not then maybe you should go find someone else because not having a good relationship with your mother in law or any of your spouses family sucks just being honest
My parent never needed my daughter’s social security number for any kind of account. Most accounts 529, UTMA, insurance policy, or others generally require a custodian…they can use the adult custodians SSN, and parents are the only people that need to open a savings account at a bank for junior. Grandma write a for deposit only check!
I don’t see this being a huge deal if the mother in law is responsible and financially stable. My father has 529’s for my kids and to do that I gave him their socials to set it up, he called told me what he was doing and I gave it to him. It was easier for him to update the contributions to those accounts than it is for him to do one through me, but we get along very well and he has plenty of money.
Depending how you go about it and you want to nab a person you keep a close eye on the credit reporting for child identity theft and be ready to file a police report. Send grandparent or whoever family member to jail for whatever degree of larceny they commit. A what if hypothetical of course, and a big hassle to go through. Keep that SSN safe.
You do have something to worried about. Even if your MIL is trustworthy, she could get her information stolen which would cascade to your children’s information stolen since you have her that info. To protect from identity theft you want to keep your SS number hidden from as many people as possible. Also you can just open up a savings account in his name yourself. Then tell MIL to deposit money into the account. Simple as that. You could even give her the username and password to the account if it makes her feel better.
It’s unclear if the mother-in-law included her son in this discussion. Typically when my wife and I handle in-laws, I handle the discussions with my parents, and she handles the discussions with her parents. We come together in a unified front in these discussions (ie, we decide things together in private). If at any point the parents contact either of us individually, unless it’s something trivial, we tell them exactly what Dave suggested: “Let me speak with husband/wife first and get back with you.” It’s all about setting healthy boundaries. If at any point the in-laws become upset about this mindset, too bad! You tell them that’s how my wife and I do things. Who knows, you might lead them by example by showing some valuable marriage lessons in how to be unified.
Nope….she can save for the kids, but the accounts will have to be in HER name or your name because the kids are minors. She does not need their SSNs to open the accounts. The account needs to be under an adult number but can be under both names. I did this for my friend’s kids and put it in her name and each child’s name. My father wanted my daughter’s SSN “because the lawyer says it needs to be in the will.” I suggested that it didn’t need to be in the will, and if the lawyer thinks it does, that he shouldn’t put it in the will.
Sounds like mom-in-law is trying to help the kids and help the relationship at the same time. Maybe the two of you need to sit down over a cup of coffee and come to an agreement. If she gave you a check and TOLD you what to do with it, that may be a bit more controlling. Seems like she is trying to take something off you and your husband’s plates as a kind gesture.
Could always open a CollegeBacker account and allow the grandma to donate to it. That way grandma doesn’t have their SS but can still feel like she’s helping. My husband and I opened up our kids accounts on our own, their grandparents sometimes send them money and we put it in. I would never give out your kids SS numbers.
I know a 40 year old single dad. The mom and the rest of the family are basically hosebeasts. He spent the past 3 tax years as the single income provider throughout the pregnancy onward. He’s making 35k and getting it done in an affordable area. He only has 2 lines of support. WIC and tax returns. This year he filed post haste and was immediately slammed with an audit and WIC got suspended. The IRS agent was actually kind to him once they figured out what happened. The baby’s freaking grandparents claimed the kid on their own taxes. Sure, they were in the kids life and saw him a few times a month. The baby never lived at their house and virtually ZERO was spent on raising the kid. Grandpa must have wanted some compensation for that onsie or stuffed toy. Dude had already broke up when the mom got sent to jail earlier for several months and this tax theft was part of the retaliation. Men beware! Don’t ever stick your D1*# in crazy! The ultimate injustice is that the mom and grandparents will never see a jail cell for this scam. At least she saw a jail cell for something, haha!
529 plan opened by the PARENTS, that Grandmother can contribute to that will go to the kids future education is the way to go. If she doesn’t like that, then ask her to just buy savings bonds in the kids names and give them to the parents. Then once the kids are old enough to be financially responsible, they can cash them in to purchase what they need (car, house, etc)
One of these days these people are going to use some common sense and trust there GUT that if something about it it ain’t right then it AINT RIGHT. Heck no would not give her my kids SSN. I would open up an account and when and if she wants to put money in it tell her this is where its at. If you don’t freely give out your own SSN then YOU SHOULD NOT GIVE YOUR KIDS OUT.
As long as the grandma is stable and loves the kids, it’s many times this is a mother and daughter in law issue. Grandma just wants to set up a savings account for the kids from her and grandpa. Daughters in law will reap the consequences of how she treated her mother in law one day when they end up with a daughter in law. Sad but true.
Well, maybe the parents are not trustworthy with money? This way grandma can properly manage the money. Also possibly her son might not approve of the grandkids getting his inheritance. Grandma wants to have less questions asked about the money she wants to save for her grandkids. Let her do it if you trust her financially! Stop getting in the way of a better future for your kids and then block any future use of their SS #.
She and the MIL don’t get along, and the husband is caught between his wife and mother? Then there is a VERY big possibility the MIL is just setting her up. Either she asks and gets the socials, and can crow about how great she is, opening the accounts for her grandkids, or she is expecting the wife to say no, so she can gripe she won’t let her do nice things for the kids. Either way, the poor wife loses. And that’s assuming the MIL wants them for what she claims and not something nefarious.