410.581—Payments on behalf of an individual.
When it appears to the Administration that the interest of a beneficiary entitled to a payment under part B of title IV of the Act would be served thereby, certification of payment may be made by the Administration, regardless of the legal competency or incompetency of the beneficiary entitled thereto, either for direct payment to such beneficiary, or for his use and benefit to a relative or some other person as the “representative payee” of the beneficiary. When it appears that an individual who is receiving benefit payments may be incapable of managing such payments in his own interest, the Administration shall, if such individual is age 18 or over and has not been adjudged legally incompetent, continue payments to such individual pending a determination as to his capacity to manage benefit payments and the selection of a representative payee. As used in §§ 410.581 through 410.590, the term beneficiary includes the dependent of a miner or widow who could qualify for certification of separate payment of an augmentation portion of such miner's or widow's benefits (see §§ 410.510(c) and 410.511 ).