S was the son and legal guardian of F, who had been declared legally incompetent following a stroke in 1957. Prior to that time, F had operated a farm for many years. S continued to operate his father’s farm after being appointed his legal guardian.

In January, 1961, S applied for old age social security insurance benefits on behalf of F, who had reached age 65.

Because of his age, F needed 12 quarter of credit for covered work under the Social Security Act. He had four quarters of credit in 1955. However, the question was whether he had quarters of credit for the time in which S had managed the farm on his behalf.

The agency held that he did. The farm was a trade or business carried on by his agent on his behalf. It was not carried on by an estate or trust, which would not have counted as social security earnings. The profits from the farm were net earnings from self-employment and, therefore, were includible as social security earnings.

Because of this, F had 16 quarters of credit, making him eligible for social security benefits.

See Social Security Ruling (SSR) 61-62.

This material should not be construed as legal advice for any particular fact situation, but is intended for general informational purposes only. For advice specific to any individual situation, an experienced attorney should be contacted.