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SOCIAL SECURITY
The following checklist is designed to help you file for your Social Security benefits correctly so that prompt payments may be made.
ELIGIBILITY
The deceased worker must have credit for work covered by Social Security, ranging from 1 ˝ to 10 years depending on his or her age at death.
WHO MAY RECEIVE MONTHLY BENEFITS
- A widow or widower age 60 or older (50 if disabled), or at any age if caring for an entitled child who is under 16 or disabled.
- A divorced widow or widower age 60 or older (50 if disabled) if the marriage lasted 10 years, or if caring for an entitled child who is under 16 or disabled.
- Unmarried children up to 18 years of age (19 if they are attending a primary or secondary school full time).
- Children who are disabled before reaching 22 years of age, as long as they remain disabled.
- Dependent parent or parents 62 years of age or older.
LUMP-SUM DEATH PAYMENT
A one-time payment of $255.00 is paid in addition to the monthly cash benefits described above. The lump-sum death payment (LSDP) is paid in the following priority order:
- A surviving spouse who lived in the same household as the deceased person at the time of death.
- A surviving spouse eligible for or entitled to benefits for the month of death.
- A child or children eligible for or entitled to benefits for the month of death.
APPLYING FOR BENEFITS
You must apply in order to receive benefits. You may apply at any Social Security office or, if you wish, you may apply by telephone. Just dial the toll-free number 1-800-772-1213 and the operator will schedule an appointment for you or arrange for the local Social Security office to take your claim by telephone.
SOCIAL SECURITY TELESERVICE – DOING BUSINESS BY TELEPHONE
You may call Social Security toll-free, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The number to use is 1-800-772-1213. To speak with a representative, call between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. on regular business days. At other times and on weekends and holidays, you may leave a message and they will call you back, in most cases, the next business day. You may use the toll-free number to make an appointment either in a Social Security office or telephone to apply for benefits, transact other Social Security business, or just ask questions. For more information visit Social Security Online.
VETERANS BENEFITS
For more information visit the following sites. Department of Veterans Affairs
Burial & Memorial Benefits
WHAT TO DO
There is a licensed funeral director, embalmer, and a competent and understanding person to answer the telephone, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. A funeral home does not close on weekends or holidays. We are here when you need us.
If someone has just died, you can call Wallace-Thompson Funeral Home at:
(903) 683-2222 or (800) 860-0188
You only need to provide us with the following information:
· Name of deceased
· Location of the deceased
· Name, phone number, and relationship of the person who will be in charge of making the arrangements.
We take charge from then on and make all the arrangements for conveying of the deceased to our funeral home for final disposition.
DEATH AWAY FROM HOME
When funeral arrangements must unexpectedly be made away from home, and family hearts are filled with mixed emotions, it is difficult to consider cost. If you want to limit cost, the best practice is to contact the funeral firm in the area where the funeral service and burial is to take place. We at Wallace-Thompson Funeral Home can properly advise you on the best approach to having the deceased returned to the Rusk area in the most suitable manner.
WHAT TO DO FIRST
CALL WALLACE-THOMPSON FUNERAL HOME AT (903) 683-2222 or (800) 860-0188 day or night.
We take charge from then on and make all the arrangements for conveying of the deceased to the local funeral home for embalming and preparation for return to Rusk. You only need to contact us with some basic information and call us when you return to Rusk to set a time for an arrangement conference. For us to assume the cost as outlined, the death must have occurred in one of the 48 contiguous states and you must call us direct so we can engage our representatives at the place of death. (DO NOT contact a funeral firm where the death occurs. WE MUST DO THIS.)
The standard receiving policy in most other funeral homes is to give you a credit for the embalming against their standard prices. You must pay all other charges such as: transfer casket, transfer container, use of out-of-town funeral home facilities, professional and staff services, transfer documents, and transportation charges. These costs can easily mount up to $1200.00 or more, depending on the cost of transportation and charges of the out-of-town funeral home. Transportation costs differ and fees are not uniform from funeral firm to funeral firm, so we cannot say exactly how much this might be.
STANDARD RECEIVING POLICY AT WALLACE-THOMPSON FUNERAL HOME
At Wallace-Thompson Funeral Home, you pay only our professional service and normal casket prices as if the death occurred in Rusk plus transportation charges. We pay the rest. In most instances you can save up to $1200.00 or more. Our receiving policy is unique to the funeral profession. It applies to every one of our standard full-service funerals.
WHAT DO YOU SAVE?
We pay all normal out-of –town cost except cash advances and transportation to Rusk. These normal charges include: out-of-town removal service, standard embalming, transfer of remains to airport, outer transfer container, all documents for transfer and burial, out-of-town funeral facilities, and professional staff and services. This means your only additional costs are transportation and transfer of remains to Wallace-Thompson Funeral Home from the airport. Since we use a lightweight transfer casket and outer container we help to keep the airfare to a minimum.
INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL
If a family member dies while traveling outside the United States, the U.S. Embassy will come to your assistance. You should call us immediately when a death occurs abroad. We are well versed in the procedures for returning the deceased to the United States.
OTHER CONDITIONS
If the death occurs outside the 48 contiguous states or your family has already engaged another funeral firm, Wallace-Thompson Funeral Home will apply liberal credits to services provided by others when selecting one of our complete full service funerals. We have funeral service contacts worldwide.
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