How estate planning attorneys request an SSA-1099 from clients
By Arthur Teboul, DokuTrak · Published
In short
Ask for the client’s SSA-1099 for last year, and the spouse’s too. Social Security mails it in January, and it shows the benefits paid during the year. It gives you a plain picture of steady income, which helps when you plan who will manage money if the client can no longer do it alone.
Why estate planning attorneys need an SSA-1099
Social Security is often the base of an older client’s income. The benefit itself does not pass under a will or a trust, but it shapes the conversation about powers of attorney and successor trustees: how much comes in each year, what is withheld, and whether Medicare premiums come out of it. Knowing the income also helps you and the client talk through how the household runs if one spouse dies first.
What exactly to ask for
The SSA-1099 for the most recent year, one for each spouse who receives benefits. If it was lost, the client can download a replacement from their my Social Security account. Ask also which bank account the benefit is deposited into, since that account belongs on your inventory.
What to check when it arrives
- The name and year match the client, and a spouse’s form is not filed as theirs.
- Box 5 net benefits gives the yearly figure you note for the income picture.
- Medicare premiums deducted are noted, so a future agent understands why the deposit is lower than the benefit.
Email to send your client
Replace the bracketed parts. The same text fits in the message of a DokuTrak request (up to 1,000 characters).
Subject: Your Social Security statement (SSA-1099)
Hi [Client name],
To plan well for the people who may one day help with your finances, it helps me to understand your regular income.
Could you send me your SSA-1099 from Social Security for last year, and your spouse’s if they receive benefits? It comes by mail in January. If you cannot find it, you can download a copy from your my Social Security account online, and I am glad to walk you through it.
Please also tell me which bank account the payment goes into. By [date] would be lovely.
Warm regards, [Your name]
Sources
The rules above come from these primary sources. Check them, and your local rules, before you rely on them.
Ask once. DokuTrak does the chasing.
- Your client uploads from one link, with no account and no password.
- Reminders go out on a schedule, by default 2, 5, 10 and 14 days after the request, until the file arrives.
- With AI review switched on in your workspace (it is off by default), each upload gets a first pass that flags a file that is not an SSA-1099 or an unreadable or blurry scan. It says so when it is not sure.
- You accept every file or mark it for re-upload, and your client gets the note by email. The AI never accepts a file.