Social Security can be an important part of a family’s financial planning, including the support available after a death. It is helpful to consider those benefits alongside savings, insurance and the estate plan, while recognizing that federal eligibility rules determine who may receive them.
Benefits are not an account you leave by will
You cannot name any person you choose to receive future Social Security retirement or survivor benefits through a will or trust. Survivor eligibility depends on the deceased worker’s qualifying record and the family member’s circumstances.
That is different from money properly received during life and still held in a bank account. Such funds are addressed through the ownership and transfer rules applicable to the account. Amounts that Social Security still owed a deceased beneficiary follow separate federal payment priorities and may, in some circumstances, be paid to a family member or the estate’s legal representative.
Who may qualify for monthly survivor benefits?
Potential recipients include a surviving spouse, a qualifying former spouse, children and dependent parents. Each category has requirements.
A surviving spouse may generally qualify beginning at age 60, or at ages 50 through 59 with a qualifying disability, subject to marriage-duration, remarriage and other rules. Certain caregivers of the deceased person’s child may qualify at younger ages. A former spouse may qualify under rules that generally include a marriage lasting at least 10 years.
Children may qualify if they are generally unmarried and under 18, or ages 18 through 19 while attending elementary or secondary school full time. An adult child whose qualifying disability began before age 22 may also be eligible. Special rules can apply to other child relationships and circumstances.
A dependent parent may qualify at age 62 or older if the support and other requirements are met. Social Security should review the particular family situation rather than the family assuming eligibility from this general description.
Review claiming choices
A surviving spouse’s benefit can depend on the age at which it begins. Starting before full retirement age can reduce the payment, and work earnings may affect payments before the applicable age.
If someone qualifies for both their own retirement benefit and a survivor benefit, the two full benefits are not simply added together. It may be possible to begin one benefit and switch to another later. Obtain current estimates and discuss the timing with Social Security and an appropriate financial adviser.
Family maximum rules can also affect payments when several people qualify on one worker’s record. A realistic plan should use the benefits actually available, rather than adding each person’s maximum in isolation.
The one-time death payment
The lump-sum death payment is currently $255 and has separate eligibility rules. A qualifying surviving spouse may receive it, including some spouses who were not living in the same household. If there is no eligible spouse, certain qualifying children may receive it. It is not payable to every child or person who paid funeral expenses.
An application generally must be made within two years of the death. This limited payment should be considered separately from planning for funeral and burial expenses.
Coordinate taxes and the rest of the plan
Part of monthly Social Security benefits may be subject to federal income tax, depending on the recipient’s filing status and other income. Florida does not impose a personal income tax. A tax adviser can evaluate the household’s actual circumstances.
Social Security’s rules do not replace Florida’s laws governing probate, trusts and other property. Verras Law can help coordinate the estate-planning decisions with the family’s expected sources of support.
Sources: SSA survivor-benefit eligibility; SSA benefit amounts and claiming choices; SSA lump-sum death-payment rules; IRS taxation of Social Security benefits.
Updated October 26, 2026.