Social Security Act provisions are complex and family lawyers need to have a thorough understanding about how they impact the clients they represent. This is a focused yet practical guide to that provides a useful understanding of SSI provisions and benefits and their wide-ranging impact in family law cases.

Examining the Social Security Act, the regulations interpreting the act, and the extensive case law relating to social security benefits, this updated edition provides answers to the key questions practitioners ask when confronted with social security issues, including:

• General information about Social Security benefits
• Derivative benefits, including benefits for the spouse, the divorced spouse, the surviving spouse, the surviving divorced spouse, mothers and fathers, children, grandchildren, and same-sex couples
• Determining who is entitled to derivative benefits, an often complicated issue
• Evidence the Social Security Administration requires to determine eligibility for benefits
• Social Security disability, SSI, and Medicare
• How Social Security benefits are allocated in the family law context, including how they are treated in divorce, alimony, and child support cases