Answer:
You may have your players reversed in their roles. The representative is your customer and controls the account on behalf of the benefit recipient. The benefit recipient needs assistance in managing the funds from the benefit, and the Representative Payee designated by the Social Security Administration fills that role.
The representative is certainly entitled to information on the account and access to the funds. The benefit recipient should not have access to the funds, and whether he or she should have information about the account is a matter for discussion. I tend to believe that the funds belong to the benefit recipient even though he or she may not access them, and the benefit recipient ought to be able to know about the account and transactions through it.
First published on BankersOnline.com 2/01/10
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