You need an estate attorney ASAP. Who is the executor?

OP --

If you could be proven to have known about it, and if you have ANY sort of fiduciary relationship with your mother (maybe even being named executor or administrator of the estate), this could be on YOUR head too. You cannot conceal his conduct and you should talk to a lawyer who handles estates and SS, and do it right NOW.

Anonymous wrote:OP here: Why would I need a lawyer? I found this out from the executor.

Why is the executor telling you instead of reporting it? Report it immediately so you are not an accessory after the fact.

Here's the initial article I mentioned above:
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

Here is Social Security's response after this news broke:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/social-security-stops-trying-to-collect-on-old-taxpayer-debts/2014/04/14/9355c58e-c40f-11e3-bcec-b71ee10e9bc3_story.html

OP, did you see the article in the Washington Post about the Feds seizing tax refunds of children years later to repay the government for overdrawing Social Security? These people don't even know what happened. They just find out when the tax refund doesn't arrive. In one case there was a family with several siblings and they took the money from the sibling they had an address for.

I think the government was embarrassed by the news that people were losing their refunds for overdrawing that occurred decades before so they are now only going back 10 years. Anyway, you don't want to find out 9 years from now that you are not getting your tax refund because they happened to have your address and not your brother's.

Anonymous wrote:OP here: Why would I need a lawyer? I found this out from the executor.

Who's the executor? Is there a lawyer handling the settling of the estate? How big is it? Presumably any money he's taken can be deducted from his share of the estate. Were the SS checks sent by direct deposit? If so, then any extra checks will probably be reversed back out of the account.

Anonymous wrote:Stealing SS is a federal crime. Call the U.S Attorney's Office where this is happening.

+1000

OP here: Why would I need a lawyer? I found this out from the executor.

Immediately notify the executor of the estate.

Lawyer lawyer lawyer.

Repeat: Call a lawyer today.

OP here I think only 1-2 checks. It scares me b/c our other brother will, of course, turn him in.

if you don't want to turn him in (and you should). get your own lawyer that can "explain" it to him and make it stop. threat of jail should force his hand to stop and pay it back.

Anonymous wrote:SS does stop when the beneficiary dies, but you need to file a death certificate and start the probate process and in the interim a SS payment may be deposited. That's how it was with my mom. I may have some of the terms wrong because it's been a few years now, but part of what the executor dies is notify SS and others about the death.

Funeral directors usually notify the SSA, odd that it didn't happen here.

Sordid. Don't enable him, OP.

SS does stop when the beneficiary dies, but you need to file a death certificate and start the probate process and in the interim a SS payment may be deposited. That's how it was with my mom. I may have some of the terms wrong because it's been a few years now, but part of what the executor dies is notify SS and others about the death.