Get Power Of Attorney For Payee

Your representative payee must use your benefits to pay for your needs. These could include payment for food, shelter, clothes, medical care and personal comfort items. Also, your representative payee must tell SSA of events that could change the amount of, or affect your right to receive, benefits.

To change your rep payee, you must fill out an application at your local SSA office. The person you select must submit a letter saying s/he is willing to serve as your rep payee.

You can only use money in a dedicated account for the following expenses: Medical treatment and education or job skills training. Personal needs related to the child's qualifying disability — such as therapy and rehabilitation, special equipment, and housing modifications.

Your payee receives your payments for you and must use the money to pay for your current needs. After your payee pays those expenses for you, your payee can use the rest of the money to pay any past-due bills you may have, provide entertainment for you, or save the money for your future use.

As a representative payee, you only have the power to handle the Social Security benefit for your friend or loved one. You may not handle any other money or property for that person unless some other document or government agency appoints you to do so.

Being an authorized representative, having power of attorney, or a joint bank account with the beneficiary is not the same as being a payee. These arrangements do not give legal authority to negotiate and manage a beneficiary's Social Security and/or SSI benefits.

It may be a family member, a friend, a legal guardian or a lawyer. In some cases social service agencies, nursing homes or other organizations offer to serve as payees. If you know someone you would like to have as your payee, tell a Social Security representative and we will consider your wish.

If the recipient is a minor child, SSA will typically appoint the biological or adoptive parent who has custody as the representative payee. It is important to note that only one person can be appointed representative payee even if both parents are living and willing to serve as representative payee.

A representative payee bank account is an account used by an appointed person or organization to manage the finances of a Social Security beneficiary. Representative payees are chosen by the Social Security Administration (SSA) to administer the account for a beneficiary—usually an older or disabled person.