SURVIVING SPOUSES

This may not be one of your concerns but it is mine - supporting our surviving spouses. If you have anything negative to comment - keep it to yourself. These people don’t need that, they need help and could sure use a hug.

There are over 15 million surviving spouses in the United States.

One invisible crisis.

Here’s what most don’t know:

Widowhood in America is a health crisis hiding in plain sight in every family and community.

Systems don’t see or recognize many of these forgotten humans . Policy doesn’t protect them. And over 50% end up in poverty—a reality that transfers many times generationally.

Please make sure to read, sign and share my petition. I will be working with elected officials to get this accomplished.

In addition, my plan is to create tiny villages where surviving spouses can live and receive counseling surrounded by people who understand this debilitating loss. There is no greater stress factor in life.

This will sadly be 1/2 of you one day and I see you.

This is it:

There is not one person who understands the devastating loss of a spouse unless you have lost your spouse, not one. Surviving spouses are overwhelmed with sadness and must take care of a ton of paperwork at a time when they can not think straight or put together a coherent sentence or fight for what is rightfully theirs. The loss of a spouse is the single most devastating stressor in life. It affects their mental, emotional, physical and financial state of being for the rest of their lives. The financial stress of losing income but having all the same bills and expenses is crippling. There are over 15 million widowed in the Untied States, 71% are over 65.

This petition is to propose 6 federal actions that would provide financial relief to the widowed, those people who have become invisible, unwitnessed, unnoticed and that others do not give a second thought to even though it will happen to them one day.

Action 1: Social Security

A) Allow the widowed to continue to collect their spouses social security payment as well as their own until they leave this earth even if they remarry. Social Security is not an entitlement and it is certainly not the fault of the contributors that our government has mismanaged and borrowed without repayment from social security. We have had money deducted from our paychecks our entire working lives. This money is ours, not the governments. This action would not be retroactive and would apply to widows who have been married for 10 years or more and are 55 years of age or older.

b) Allow children to collect parental social security until the age of 22 instead of 18.

C) Increase the dismal one time $225 payment. It’s insulting.

D) A payment of at least $25000 to surviving spouses between 30-45, who have been married for at least 5 years and have not remarried. They should not have to lose everything their spouse contributed to Social Security.

Action 2:  Taxes

Change “qualifying surviving spouse” to simply “surviving spouse” and allow them the same standard deduction as married filing jointly. Married Jointly and Surviving Spouse have the same standard deduction which is currently $29,200. The widowed have always  been able to file taxes jointly. Now they are faced with filing differently which lowers their standard deduction by approximately $15,000. The standard deduction for married filing jointly and qualifying surviving spouses is $29,200, for head of household it is $14,600 and for singles it is $14,600. The widowed  must now take on the sole responsibility of the same mortgages, the same utility bills, and the same house up-keep bills. But now they have to do it with half of the income they were used to having. The widowed did not choose to not be married. Remove the word “qualifying” and make married filing jointly  and surviving spouses the same deduction.

Action 3:  Veteran Benefits

Every surviving spouse of a disabled veteran who has already been collecting veteran benefits, should receive at least $1800 each month regardless of whether or not they’ve been granted 100% status. Yes, there are many cases where spouses receive VA payments but this is to help the surviving spouse who qualifies for nothing but has been the person to make their veteran spouse whole.

Action 4: Eliminate capital gains tax completely or make the deduction on capital gains the same regardless of marital status. Currently, when a home is sold with a profit, single people can add on $250,000 to the purchase price whereas married people can add on $500,000 to reduce capital gains. Quite often, the widowed must sell their homes for a plethora of reasons including it is just too damned painful to live in the same house or, because the widowed have lost what could be a lot of income, they can sadly no longer afford their home.

Action 5: Eliminate estate (death) tax.

Action 6: Eliminate school taxes for single family home owners 65 and older.

Until you lose your spouse, you simply have no idea what this does.

SIGN THE PETITION