roses4lace

I'm the representative payee for my grown son. His money has to be kept separately from mine, in a special account. The bank will set this up. Each year I get a form from SSA asking basic information - how much was spent on certain items, how much was left over/saved. A few very simple questions, maybe 4-5, not complicated like an income tax form. SSI money is different from SSDI money in how it can be spent. My only problem is that my record of what income actually arrived is different from the amount they tell me in the letter. Could be because these last few years have been a mix of SSI, SSDI, repayments of SSI, and lump sum payments. I just do the best I can. I figure if they have a problem with it, they will call me. They weren't very helpful over the phone.

The critical thing is, keep the money in a separate account and it will make the reporting much easier. My son has certain bills he is responsible for, and a check is written out of his account for them. All his clothes, his movies, dinners, haircuts, phone, doctor bills, etc, basically anything that is his alone, comes out of his account. We buy our food separately at the grocery store, and his food comes out of his account. Debit card or check gives you the paper trail to prove the expenses. I've filed the report twice and haven't yet been asked for proof.