My mother fought for 5 years to receive her Social Security benefits. Finally her lawyers sent her a letter stating that the fight was over and that she would be receiving a letter stating what her monthly amount would be. That was January... by September my mother was dead and had not received not one check. My question is, although my sister and I are adult children are we entitled to the back pay? If we are entitled will the money be taxed? Thank you for any insight.

No. You are not dependent and SS does not go into an estate, it ceases with the last person.

If the SSA agreed that she should receive a certain amount starting in January, then indeed those checks are owed from January until her death in September. These past due payments would be made to your mother's estate, not to you. Whether they are taxable or not depends on the particulars of your mother's income (and the estate's) - this is something the executor of the estate would need to handle, along with the ultimate distribution of the estate's assets to the heirs.

Thank you for taking the time out to answer me. Actually since my mother had payments pending my sister and I are entitled to those back payments. We had to fill out Form SSA1724 and provide them with her death certificate, her SSN, and our birth certificates. It takes about 90 days and whatever is left after any money owed to the federal gov, such as back taxes is ours to split. Now what you said does apply for someone who wants to know if they can receive future monthly benefits from their loved ones SS Payments. So in other words if my Mom had started receiving her payments, my sister and I would not be able to keep receiving her check as she would if she had lived. I still do not know if the government is going to tax the money we receive or not... I am still searching for that answer.

Have a Great Day!
Vals' Child :)