Unfortunately, adults who live together but are not married are not eligible to receive payments on the basis of disabled person with whom he or she lives. But see the section on common-law marriage!
Benefits for People in Jail or Prison or With Outstanding Warrants
People who are currently incarcerated in jail or prison for more than 30 days are not eligible to receive disability benefits. Benefits to your spouse or children will continue. If you were receiving disability insurance benefits, your benefits can be reinstated the month after the month you are released. If you were receiving SSI, your benefits will not be automatically reinstated but you can reapply once you are released.
A person who has an outstanding felony warrant for more than 30 continuous days is also not eligible for disability benefits until the outstanding warrant is satisfied. This is true if a person is charged with flight to avoid prosecution or confinement, escape from custody and flight-escape. There are certain good cause exceptions to this rule.
SSA also may apply the good cause exception to the non-payment rule if the arrest warrant was for a crime that was non-violent and not drug-related, and in the case of probation or parole violators, both the violation and the underlying offense were non-violent and not drug-related.
On a related topic, if your disability is the result of a felony you committed, then you are not eligible for disability benefits. For example, if you were shot while you were robbing someone and you were charged and convicted of a felony for that, then you cannot get disability benefits on the basis of the injuries you received from being shot while you were committing that crime.
We serve clients throughout the Carolinas from our offices in Spartanburg, Greenville, and Columbia.