Social Security, Treasury target taxpayers for their parents’ decades-old debts

[IDemo]

A few weeks ago, with no notice, the U.S. government intercepted Mary Grice’s tax refunds from both the IRS and the state of Maryland. Grice had no idea that Uncle Sam had seized her money until some days later, when she got a letter saying that her refund had gone to satisfy an old debt to the government — a very old debt.

When Grice was 4, back in 1960, her father died, leaving her mother with five children to raise. Until the kids turned 18, Sadie Grice got survivor benefits from Social Security to help feed and clothe them.

Now, Social Security claims it overpaid someone in the Grice family — it’s not sure who — in 1977. After 37 years of silence, four years after Sadie Grice died, the government is coming after her daughter. Why the feds chose to take Mary’s money, rather than her surviving siblings’, is a mystery.

Across the nation, hundreds of thousands of taxpayers who are expecting refunds this month are instead getting letters like the one Grice got, informing them that because of a debt they never knew about — often a debt incurred by their parents — the government has confiscated their check.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/social-security-treasury-target-hundreds-of-thousands-of-taxpayers-for-parents-old-debts/2014/04/10/74ac8eae-bf4d-11e3-bcec-b71ee10e9bc3_story.html

[hobbit709]

1. That sucks.

[CreekDog]

2. how can they take money from her to pay for an errant payment when she was 21?

if she was born in 1956 and the payment was in 1977...the payments to her stopped in 1974.

besides, if she had a debt, they should have informed her when the determined it was hers.

[Jacoby365]

3. This happened to me.

Social Security survivor's benefits can also be paid to the children when they are young adults, as long as they are going to college. I received similar payments when I was 19. A year or so later, they claimed they had overpaid me by several hundred dollars. I remember making some payments back to Social Security about 35 years ago. I thought it was settled, and out of the blue, I received a letter from Social Security about six months ago, claiming I owed them $375 for overpayment way back in 1981. I wrote a letter explaining that I thought I had taken care of this, having not heard anything from them in 35 years. They then started billing me for the amount they said I owe. I think it is complete BS, but what is a person to do?

[Jacoby365]

4. Meanwhile, corporations like Verizon

pay no income tax...

[raccoon]

9. Social Security survivor's benefits doesn't pay for college any more.

"under the provisions of the Omnibus Budge Reconciliation Act of 1981, student benefits for post-secondary and for elementary and/or secondary students older than 18, were phased-out and finally eliminated by April 1985. This change in the law was estimated to save the Social Security program $10.6 billion over the first five years."

http://www.ssa.gov/history/studentbenefit.html

[Nay]

5. When I was executor of my mother's will, I put a blurb in the paper notifying

creditors to come forward BY A SPECIFIC DATE if they had any claims, and they did. Supposedly, after that legal process and after the date had passed, all claims by debtors was null and void.

First, are creditors no longer bound by these legal rules?

Second, how is it possible that a creditor can come after a relative 1) who was not involved in the debt, and 2) whose relative had settled the debt at death by the execution of a will or intestate process?

[Glitterati]

6. First of all

The "debt" was paid to the PARENT for the child.

My daughter, now 18, also received survivor benefits, sent to ME, as Payee for <her> until she turned 18. Had she not graduated HS a year early, once she reached 18, the checks FOR her, would have been sent directly TO her until her graduation from high school. (It should be noted, however, that in years past, the age was 22 as long as the CHILD remained in school, including college.)

However, and this is VERY important, every year, I had to fill out a form and state HOW I spent HER funds. Every penny sent to me, as payee for a minor, MUST BE ACCOUNTED FOR ANNUALLY.

[notadmblnd]

7. And if you save any of it for the child so they have a little something, they want that back.

After my son turned 18 he was cut off but still in school. I called them and they re-instated til he graduated. I was sent a letter telling me that if he had any social security money saved to please send it back in an envelope. I was so glad that I always put zero in the line where they asked how much had been put away in savings.

[Glitterati]

8. Ahh, well, now I'm especially happy I gave her the savings

at 16 to buy her own car!

I didn't realize that savings would be recovered by SSA when she reached 18.