Federal law permits you to collect Social Security benefits based on the work history and contributions of your ex-spouse. People deserve the benefits, having been a long-term partner and helpmate of a member of the workforce, if they meet certain qualifications. The benefits are similar to what you would have collected if you had stayed married.

The rules are gender neutral, so it doesn’t matter who made more money during the marriage. The amount of benefits your divorced spouse gets will have zero effect on the benefits you or your now-current spouse may receive.Whether or not you qualify for enhanced benefits may depend, literally, on whether your ex-spouse is dead or alive.

If your ex-spouse is alive, you can get benefits based on your ex-spouse’s work record if:

• The marriage lasted ten years or longer
• You’re unmarried
• You’re 62 or older
• The Social Security benefit you’re entitled to receive based on your own work record is less than the benefit you’d receive from your ex-spouse’s record. If so, you would collect whichever benefit is greater, not both

It doesn’t matter if your ex-spouse has remarried, but his or her situation has an impact.

• Your ex must be entitled to Social Security retirement or disability benefits
• If so, even if those benefits haven’t started, Social Security will allow you as the ex-spouse to receive benefits if you’ve been divorced for at least two years

The benefit amount depends on:

• The amount of benefits your ex-spouse can get
• If you’re at full retirement age you’ll be eligible for benefits that are 50% of what he or she would get
• If you opt for benefits before the full retirement age they’ll be permanently reduced

If your spouse has passed away you need to meet these conditions:

• You are 60 or older or 50 and disabled
• The marriage lasted at least ten years
• Your own retirement benefits would not be higher than what you could claim on your ex-spouse’s record

If you remarried before age 60 (or 50 if you’re disabled), you aren’t eligible for such a benefit. If you waited to remarry after 60 (or 50 if you’re disabled), you can get these benefits.

If you’re caring for your ex-spouse’s child, you can get benefits on his or her record at any age, if that child is also your natural or legally adopted child and he or she is younger than 16. Those benefits will continue until the child reaches age 16 or, if, the child is disabled, when that disability ends. These Social Security benefits are available even if you were married to your ex-spouse for less than ten years.

Those who’ve been married and divorced multiple times may be eligible for benefits based on an ex-spouse’s work record, depending on the length of the marriages and other circumstances. A person can’t collect multiple benefits on the records of multiple ex-spouses, only one.

To apply for these benefits you can go to the Social Security Administration’s website or call them at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778). You will probably be asked to supply:

• Copies of your birth certificate, marriage license and divorce decree
• Your ex-spouse’s Social Security number. If you don’t know it, you’ll be asked for his or her date and place of birth and the names of his parents so the agency can find the number for you

You may be considering a divorce, or have post-judgment of divorce issues.  If you have questions about what your financial resources and income might be afterward, an experienced matrimonial attorney  may positively affect negotiations and court outcomes during the divorce process. To get started call the Central Jersey law offices of Hanan M. Isaacs, P.C., at 609-683-7400, or contact us online, for a near-term reduced fee initial consultation.  We can discuss your situation, the applicable laws, and your best options to protect your legal rights and interests.  Call now.  You will be glad you did.