My wife filed for disability in 2001.She got turned downed and we didn't pursue it.She refiled again in July 2008.We have a lawyer and waiting on a hearing.If she wins,will she get back pay to first time she filed,2001?We have two kids, would they get any type of money from my wife disability claim?
She would get from the time She refiled again in July 2008. If she had not let the original lapse but kept appealing she would have gotten it from that point.
The kids should be eligible to receive benefits through her benefits or they just figure the amount in I am not sure. I know my kids each got money from their dads SSD but we were divorced.
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She would get benefits from July 2008 once she is awarded the benefits. I would suggest that your wife immediately to to SS and file for benefits for the children as they will get retroactive benefits from the time she files for them, not back to July 2008 for her. Anytime she is turned down for disability she needs to keep appealing. The first time she was turned down for disability is when she should have gotten an attorney involved. An attorney is not allowed to get involved until the person is turned down ONCE. After that first turndown the person is allowed to keep applying or appealing until the case is won.
You must remember also, that even if she is awarded benefits the first 6 months after applying is considered the waiting period and she will not be paid anything during those waiting 6 months.
Depending on the severity of her disability it may take years to accomplish. Have her go down though and file for the kid's benefits now before too much time goes by as they will have the same 6 months waiting period as well after the benefits are awarded.
The secret to getting a disability claim approved, without going through the appeal process, is making sure you explain in detail how and why your condition affects your day to day ability to function normally. This is where many people fail, they think that doctors and tests are sufficient. I have helped people successfully win their award upon initial application, by advising them of this fact. They then test you to verify your claims, so one should, of course, be honest. I applied 3 months after an auto accident, upon advice of the 2 doctors treating me, 6 months later I had my approval and Award Letter. My caee worker told me I got it because I did two things most applicants fail to do: 1) Be very detail in the section asking for how your condition affects your daily activities and functioning, and 2) be legible (I typed my application, you can now fill it out online at the SSA website.)
The lawyer brings up in court, what the applicant failed to provide initially. Once the administrative law judge is satisfied you are impaired on a day-to-day basis as a result of your disability, he awards you benefits. If it is SSDI she gets, the children can get benefits as well. Benefits for her are retroactive from the most recent date she applied. Go online and sign the kids up in the meantime, once she gets benefits, they will be eligible from the date you sign them up.
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[quote=DisabledinMD;2034539] I have helped people successfully win their award upon initial application, by advising them of this fact. They then test you to verify your claims, so one should, of course, be honest. I applied 3 months after an auto accident, upon advice of the 2 doctors treating me, 6 months later I had my approval and Award Letter. My caee worker told me I got it because I did two things most applicants fail to do: 1) Be very detail in the section asking for how your condition affects your daily activities and functioning, and 2) be legible (I typed my application, you can now fill it out online at the SSA website.)
If you are "advising" people who are filing for their initial claim then I sure hope you have a license to practice law. No attorney is allowed to get involved LEGALLY with a SSD claim until after the claimant has been denied at least once. What you are doing is ILLEGAL. You need to cease doing this or, trust me, you will be caught and prosecuted for practicing law without a license.
Just because you were approved rather quickly does not mean everyone is approved quickly. In some states you need to be denied at least 3 times prior to approval and then only after the person had an attorney help them in their appeal. I worked for a SSD attorney for years who, by law, was not allowed to help a person prior to being denied by SSD at least once. He even had to handle several appeals for one person before that person was approved. You make it out as being a slam, bam, file and get approved thing. This is totally wrong. Sorry.
Also, the waiting period WAS 6 months. It was just recently changed. Same as the children of the workers getting benefits from the time the case was filed. That changed also recently.
The secret to getting a disability claim approved, without going through the appeal process, is making sure you explain in detail how and why your condition affects your day to day ability to function normally. This is where many people fail, they think that doctors and tests are sufficient. I have helped people successfully win their award upon initial application, by advising them of this fact. They then test you to verify your claims, so one should, of course, be honest. I applied 3 months after an auto accident, upon advice of the 2 doctors treating me, 6 months later I had my approval and Award Letter. My caee worker told me I got it because I did two things most applicants fail to do: 1) Be very detail in the section asking for how your condition affects your daily activities and functioning, and 2) be legible (I typed my application, you can now fill it out online at the SSA website.)
The lawyer brings up in court, what the applicant failed to provide initially. Once the administrative law judge is satisfied you are impaired on a day-to-day basis as a result of your disability, he awards you benefits. If it is SSDI she gets, the children can get benefits as well. Benefits for her are retroactive from the most recent date she applied. Go online and sign the kids up in the meantime, once she gets benefits, they will be eligible from the date you sign them up.
You have helped people successfully (as opposed to unsuccessfully - ?) win their claim? You cannot provide legal help unless you are a licensed Attorney in most States. This concerns me.
I checked the SS site and it appears that representation by an Attorney is not permitted unless a claim has been denied because Attorneys can only get paid a percentage of the recovery, not an hourly or flat rate fee.
Does anyone have specific info to the contrary or additional background on this?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JudyKayTee
I checked the SS site and it appears that representation by an Attorney is not permitted unless a claim has been denied because Attorneys can only get paid a percentage of the recovery, not an hourly or flat rate fee.
Does anyone have specific info to the contrary or additional background on this?
Nothing to add other than I worked for an attorney in Florida for 7 years who did disability claims. He turned away more clients due to the fact that they were not turned down at least once. Many of those folks came back once they had their denial letter in hand and he accepted them as a client.
In most disability cases the hours and hours that are put in by the attorney and his staff in compiling and reviewing the medical records is a lot. I can't tell you how many happy hours I spent at the local SS office copying their medical file/medical records on the claimant that they had and then went back to the office and compared each page with what records the attorney's office had and made sure that both sets of medical records were identical for use at the Administrative Hearing for the claimant. I also had to take my own paper to the SS office as they did not provide paper, only the machine to copy the files on. And I had to make an appointment to go there and copy the files and produce the proper signed authorizations to do so.
Most people have no idea just how complicated filing a SS claim can be. They only look at the bottom line where the attorney gets "free" money from the claimant. They and their staff work hard for that "free" money. Plus they do not get a dime up front either. They are only paid sometimes after years and years of representing the claimant.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JudyKayTee
Got chopped off - LOVED the part where you used their machine ... but your paper!
Yes, I had to schlep blank reams of paper with me not knowing just how many reams I'd use up either!! And the part about having to make an appointment and keeping it as well was important. I got to know the nice ladies down at the local office so well that when I'd call up they'd tell me approximately how much paper to bring with me. Wasnt that nice of them? They'd tell me the file was 8" thick, etc. and I would approximate the paper to bring along.
I was only allowed just so many hours of copying also and could not run over as there was someone else in line ready to copy the records.
And (this is the part that gets me) not all of the attorneys would send a representative from their offices either. A lot of attorneys were there standing at the copy machine copying the files themselves!!! They must have been sole practitioners with no office help though.
It was critical that the paperwork at the SS office was up to date and matched what the attorney had in his files. I can't tell you how many times I discovered that even though I had sent in the medical records to SS that the records were not properly added to the claimant's file. The onus was on the attorney's office to ensure the latest medical records were sent to SS as well as the doctor's offices were quite lax in this endeavor as they didn't really care. I would have to coordinate with the claimant when their last doctor's visit was, call up or request in writing the latest addition to the doctor's notes or new test results and then forward everything on to SS.
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