A North Carolina widow went 5 months without Social Security after her husband died — and her daughter is a tax lawyer. Here's what finally worked

Doris is what the Social Security Administration (SSA) considers “dual eligible” meaning she had her own work record and was receiving benefits from that. With Wayne’s passing, she was now eligible to receive his benefit check instead of her own, resulting in $1,300 more each month.

Doris and her daughter Kelly quickly discovered the hoops she’d have to jump through to get Social Security survivor benefits and receive Wayne’s higher monthly check. For some, it can be a relatively smooth process but it can also be wrought with challenges, especially for those having to go through it while grieving.

In Doris’ case, it took several calls, letters and faxes with the SSA, a visit to the SSA field office in North Carolina, and finally help from her district congressman to get what she was owed.

Even with help from her daughter Kelly – an estate and tax lawyer and a journalist who writes about Social Security regularly – the whole process from Wayne’s passing until everything was resolved took five months.

Doris’ story can serve as a cautionary tale for others who may be in her shoes about the steps to follow and where to turn if you’re stuck.

Social Security survivor benefits

Survivor benefits are monthly payments to eligible family members of people who worked and paid Social Security taxes before they died (2). These benefits are generally available to spouses, ex-spouses, children (minors), and dependent parents.

The SSA has a detailed list of eligibility criteria (3) and those who fit the requirements should apply as soon as possible. The process can be time consuming from when you first apply for benefits to when you start receiving them.

The Department of Government Efficiency cut 7,200 positions from the SSA and, as of January, the SSA has only 52,045 workers – a 20% drop over the last decade (1). This has led to longer wait times or delays for anyone who needs to speak to or meet with a human agent. Although agent calls have an 8-minute average speed of answer (4), Doris once requested a callback and waited 3.5 hours to receive the call (1).

Keep in mind that to apply for survivor benefits, customers must call and speak with a human agent (5) or book a scheduled appointment at a field office.

The challenges Doris faced

When Doris applied for survivor benefits after calling the SSA, her monthly benefit checks stopped flowing into her bank account. This is an expected part of the process but one that was exacerbated by the fact that the SSA also automatically cuts off benefits after a notice of death is received, usually from a funeral home (1).

This left Doris in a challenging position where she was no longer receiving any benefits. Doris and her family began to worry she may run into issues with Medicare as she had been paying her premiums through deductions from her Social Security check. As someone who requires specialist visits, routine cancer tests, and other medical needs, there was worry that her coverage may lapse due to her suspended benefit checks.

During Doris’ lengthy application process, she and Kelly also received contradictory information from agents on the phone as well as conflicting letters in the mail, which only added to the frustration.

One possible reason for the lack of clarity could be that the SSA has moved some employees from their regular duties over to the phones. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and other Senate Democrats claim that this has resulted in undertrained reps answering phones and has left field offices understaffed (6).

On Dec. 2, 2025, after more than a month of no benefits and continued confusion, Doris and Kelly reached out to the congressman in her district for help. Members of congress and their staff often provide constituent services like helping people deal with federal agencies, such as the SSA (7).

Then, three days later, Doris received confirmation from the SSA that she had an appointment scheduled for Dec. 24 at her local SSA office in North Carolina. Receiving an appointment so quickly (just 19 days) was a positive sign. Sen. Elizabeth Warren released data in September stating that 57% of people requesting an in-person appointment had to wait more than 28 days (1).

During her Dec. 24 appointment, SSA staff advised Doris that she was all set and would receive her benefits. However, in the days following she received two separate letters from the SSA that pre-dated her appointment stating that the SSA could not pay her benefits.

Doris and Kelly began to worry again as conflicting information continued.