A friend asked me last week if I was drawing my late husband’s Social Security and I did not even know I was entitled to do something like that at age 60.   I went to the http://www.ssa.gov/ website and read what they said about widow’s benefits.  The first thing on my To do list for today was to go to the local clerk of the court’s office and obtain a certified copy of his 1996 death certificate and take it to the Social Security office to see if I was entitled to anything.

I was told at the Bayside clerk’s office that I’d have to go to the Bureau of Vital Statistics up by Hwy 528 for the info.   There I learned that altho the attorney who probated the estate amended the death certificate 4 times, we still did not end up with one bearing Lee’s correct Social Security number.  In the first 2 amendments, they left out his first middle name and on 3 of them they had my last name as Michaelis (instead of de Michaelis.)  I took what I had to the Social Security office just north of Hwy 528 and US1 in Cocoa.  Wow, a huge change from the last time I was in their offices.  Automation!  I was in and out in 20 minutes and the place was half full.  Basically, I was told that if would be worth it for me to request his Social Security benefit if I earned less than $14,640 for 2012.  I do not.  I spent hours gathering all the papers I’d need from all the various files to make sure I had everything with me.  But that wasn’t time wasted.  I know more about it now than I did before.  Learning is never a waste of time.  Plus how cool that in my last uncluttering Saturday is when I found the file with all the certified copies in it.  I’m good.