Can My Brother Collect Social Security Benefits for My Son With a Notarized Temporary Guardianship?

Full question:

can social security benefits for my son be transfered to my brother with just a notarized temporary custody paper?

• Category: Social Security
• Date: 04/07/2025
• State: California

Answer:

A representative payee is an individual or organization appointed by SSA to receive Social Security and/or SSI benefits for someone who cannot manage or direct someone else to manage his or her money. The main responsibilities of a payee are to use the benefits to pay for the current and foreseeable needs of the beneficiary and properly save any benefits not needed to meet current needs. A payee must also keep records of expenses. When SSA requests a report, a payee must provide an accounting to SSA of how benefits were used or saved.

A representative payee is an individual or organization appointed by SSA to receive Social Security and/or SSI benefits for someone who cannot manage or direct someone else to manage his or her money. The main responsibilities of a payee are to use the benefits to pay for the current and foreseeable needs of the beneficiary and properly save any benefits not needed to meet current needs. A payee must also keep records of expenses. When SSA requests a report, a payee must provide an accounting to SSA of how benefits were used or saved.

The law requires most minor children and all legally incompetent adults to have payees.
If adult beneficiaries are not be capable of managing benefits SSA may gather evidence and determine there is a need to appoint a representative payee. We suggest contacting the Social Security Administration for a determination of whether a representatve payee is needed. Please see the contact information at the following link:

http://www.ssa.gov/pgm/reach.htm

Please see also:

http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10076.html
http://www.ssa.gov/payee/faqrep.htm