Social Security Benefits for Divorced Spouses in Florida

Social Security Benefits for Divorced Spouses in Florida

As a divorced spouse, you may be eligible to receive Social Security benefits from your ex-spouse’s work record. However, before you can receive any help, there are requirements and criteria to meet. Here is what you need to know about social security benefits for divorced spouses in Florida.

Collecting Social Security from your Ex’s Work Record

If your ex-spouse is entitled to collect Social Security retirement or disability benefits, you may also be eligible to collect spousal benefits on their earning record. However, you can only collect spousal benefits from your ex-spouse’s social security if you meet specific criteria.

First of all, the marriage should have lasted at least ten years. Following your divorce, you should not have remarried. You don’t necessarily have to be single: you just can’t be legally married. You will lose eligibility to collect benefits if you remarry while receiving benefits based on your ex-spouse’s entitlement. Lastly, you must be 62 years old when you apply for spousal benefits.

At the minimum required age of 62, you may be able to receive 32.5% of your ex-spouse’s benefits, regardless of whether or not they applied for benefits as well. The highest you can receive is 50% of their benefits, as long as you’ve reached retirement age, which will be at some point 67 years old. Social Security benefit rules are complex.

Don’t expect to receive combined benefits. You can still claim ex-spousal benefits even if you already receive retirement benefits on your work records. However, if you file for ex-spousal benefits, Social Security will only pay whichever of the two amounts are higher.

Survivor Benefits

If your ex-spouse is deceased, you may be entitled to survivor benefits, which involve receiving 100% of the amount your ex-spouse was eligible to receive if they never claimed benefits. It’s worth noting that any benefits you receive from your ex’s work record will not affect the benefits paid out to them by Social Security; it will also have no impact on their current spouse, assuming they remarried.

How to Apply for Social Security Benefits

To file for spousal benefits, you can visit the Social Security Administration (SSA) office or file online on their official website. You are not required to inform your ex-spouse of the application, as it will not affect any of their social security credits. You will have to provide the following requirements:

• Birth Certificate or any legitimate confirmations of your birth details
• Official proof of citizenship or legal immigration status
• Ex-Spouse’s Social Security Number
• Marriage Certificate
• Divorce Decree

During the filing process, you will include your work record and ex-spouses. Because this ensures they can seek a higher benefit percentage from both of you, you will only receive the highest one.

To learn more about what you may be entitled to receive even after a divorce, call Debora A. Diaz Esquire at 727-846-1802 to schedule a consultation or use the Scheduling Link: https://deboradiazlawscheduling.as.me/. Consultations are by telephone or video conferencing.

Attorney Diaz practices exclusively in divorce and family law in Florida. Debora A. Diaz is also a Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator.