If your children or dependents receive Social Security su...

My son who was 14 in 2016 received SS death benefits from his father passing away, so do I need to check that I received SS in 2016 to get started?

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If your children or dependents receive Social Security survivors/disability benefits, that is income to them, not to you. You do not enter it on your tax return. Look at Box 2 of the SSA-1099 and you should see the person's SSN.
If that is the only income a child/dependent has, then the child/dependent does not have to file or report it either.
If the child\dependent has enough other income to be required to file, then the child reports the SS on their own return.