SSI payee?

Apparently due to my concentration problems and cognitive difficulties, there is a chance I will have to be appointed one. Got out of my hearing sounds like my case will be approved...but the potential payee thing concerns me.

So does anyone at all have any experience with having a payee? and if so do you know if it means you never get any money in your possesion and the payee pays for everything including recreational activities? Or do they pay for needs and all that and then give you a certain amount of money to use for recreational activities? And does their level of influence/control over funds depend on how disabled you are in that area....or would someone like me and someone with say severe mental retardation be treated in the same regard by a payee.

I am just afraid of having all my personal freedom stripped away...so I guess I am wondering if having a payee is as horrible as I am thinking?

If no one has experiance or information about this, just let it die...not quite looking for comfort I am after real information so I can have an idea of what I'm dealing with here.

Did you google "ssa payee"? Looks like good info there. I live in an apartment complex, and i heard that an apartment manager here who was the representative? was stealing some money From the benefits.

Yes I have googled it and found some info...but I couldn't find a clear answer as to whether I can get a limited amount of money to spend on recreational activities, or if the payee more or less gets to decide on the activities and pay for them for you....or if its simply up to the descretion of the payee if they feel that is the best way for me to go about spending on stuff like concerts and movies and such.

I came to the conclusion if it is determined I for sure need one I'll probably go through my mom since she knows me better than any state appointed representative would and though me and her have our disagreements I really doubt she'd try to screw me over...especially since it would be a criminal offense to do so. And I trust her to be more reasonable about spending money...or whatever since she knows I do need activities to enjoy but she would certianly make sure my 'expenses' and necessities are covered first.

I am ok with the whole having someone help me manage money so I can make sure and cover the nessesities and keep up on the few bills I have here and there. Just don't want it managed to the point I have no real say, and feel dehumanized.

Alright that is pretty cool, did some more internet research and found the payee can give me a reasonable amount of spending money...and since it will likely be my mom lol or my sister(kinda doubtful as she's dealing with work, school and a bit of financial trouble so that could be too much stress plus she may not be interested anyways. well there just isn't much to worry about. I guess if they decide I need one, it might be to my benefit as if I had 'all' my money I might go blow it in a depressive self destructive episode(I have done that before) and I also tend to forget about bills I don't have many now but for a while when I had a credit card I was late on payments a lot since I forgot about them. If I have help making sure to cover all nessesities and bills and limited cash for my personal use then it should work out well enough.

I used to do that for my son. I remember I had to fill out some paperwork about how much was spent and what it was spent for. I always gave him some spending money every time I deposited the check for him. That sounds good if your Mom will do that for you.

Yeah it will work out ok I suppose... and I am sure when I need things like toothpaste, shampoo and stuff like that I can still go with to the store and pick what I want still feel bad about the whole thing I feel embarrassed about it because I am fairly intelligent and I'm 24...but my conditions interfere with everything.

Out of curiosity though did you have to keep track of like every transaction and the exact amount spent or just the amounts spent for various reasons...like bills/toiletries/food/ ect?

I guess another issue is I don't like the idea of having to consult my mom every time I need a new toothbrush or whatever and schedule a time when she has time off from work and school when we can go and get that sort of thing...that is more stress on my plate in a way. though it would be even worse trying to organize things with someone I don't even know, who doesn't know me.

The payee is the one that makes sure bills and necessities come first. Depending on what those monthly costs are will determine what your spending $$ will be.

That makes sense, though me and my mom already discussed we'd have to collaborate some....so she knows what my needs are, like I'd have to inform her if I need a new toothbrush, toothpaste or whatever. Also though I am still confused as to whether 'needs' means specifically the bare essentials or if it includes things to make life better such as maybe better furniture for my room...kind of assuming its the latter.

But yeah the spending money isn't the first priority, I was just concerned there would be none at all......and that any time I wanted to do something I'd have to bring my mom since I'd have no money for my spending. I mean that would suck if I wanted to go to a concert and had to bring her in case I want a t-shirt or something after the show(we like some of the same bands but I like metal and she's not really into that)...but if I have a little spending money then I can just go pay on my own and if I so desire get a t-shirt after. Most concerts I go to cost 20$ at most.

As I recall we didn't need receipts and to the penny, but we had categories the funds went into and what was spent in each category. I just put the money in a checking account for that purpose and who the checks were to gave me the idea what it was for. Not sure if you can be a signer on the account with your Mom. Now he has his own account and I just am a signer to help as needed.

The whole point of payee is to make sure bills are paid and you do not buy things you can not afford. The payee is the one making the decisions. In some cases the person receiving benefits will have more bills than income. The bills come before spending money. Once bills are paid down then spending money could increase. It is still up to payee to control the purse strings on how much you would be able to have though. I a joint account was opened it would be "both signatures required "not one or the other so this usually does not happen.

I thought I was clear that I understood the bills and necessities come before spending money...and am confused about how my wording was unclear.

In my case though there aren't many bills.

I'd make sure SS is aware of the fact before you get too far in the process. I asked for my check to go to my husband, and the SS rep was really annoyed. I guess you've got to do tax forms and other side paperwork. We ended up just making a joint account. Good Luck!!

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