Attorneys for social security disability

Q: If you become employed part time, do Supplemental Security Income payments continue?

A: SSI benefits are intended for those with limited resources and income. Your SSI payments could stop or simply be decreased, once you have employment income again. If you earn more than the amount Social Security deems as Substantial Gainful Activity, your SSI benefits may be in jeopardy. The pretax monthly limit this past year was set at just below $1000. Make sure you keep Social Security informed of all changes in your work income. You will have to pay back any over payments from Social Security. If you have the desire and ability to work in any capacity, you should not hesitate to pursue that. Purposefully keeping your hours low for the sole purpose of continuing SSI benefits can be considered fraudulent. If you have any reservations about returning to work because of loss of SSI benefits, you may wish to contact a social security lawyer.

Q: If you recently hired a social security lawyer, why will the representatives at SS no longer deal directly with you?

A: Once representation is hired, Social Security prefers to handle all transactions regarding your case via your social security lawyer. You should not be concerned if this is the case. Your social security lawyer represents you. Communicating with both you and your social security lawyer can result in miscommunication. Your lawyer is an extension of you. You should be in frequent contact with your social security lawyer regarding your case. That is why you hired representation.

Q: Are veterans who receive compensation through the VA also eligible for disability insurance through Social Security?

A: An individual is eligible to be awarded disability with the Veterans Administration and the Social Security Administration. If a veteran was injured on or after October 2001, he can have his claim go through an accelerated review process with Social Security. The expedited process is supposed to occur automatically, but it is a good idea to remind the representative handling your claim or to mention it on your initial application. If you have a social security lawyer, have him handle it for you.

Q: I own a business, but do not run it myself. Can I have still apply for social security benefits?

A: As defined by the Social Security Administration, disability is the “inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity.” What is considered “substantial gainful activity” comes from the National Wage Index, which averages monthly wages across the board. They consider a person to be working any day that he or she “is the owner or part owner of a trade or business even if he or she does not actually work in the trade or business or receive any income from it.”

Your business income may affect your social security benefits. If that income goes over the predetermined substantial gainful activity (SGA) level, the SSA may consider it a substantial income. This level is determined by comparing your business earnings to your pre disability earnings, and the earnings of a non disabled person engaged in the same business.

Q: What will happen to my claim if I die while in the process of applying for benefits?

A: According to the Social Security Administration, if a person who may be eligible for social security benefits dies (this includes Supplemental Security Income), their survivors may apply for a Lump Sum Death Payment. This means that, if you were to die in the process of applying for social security benefits, your survivors may make a case for the social security benefits you may have earned after the waiting period. In order to receive the lump sum payment, your survivors must prove that you would have qualified for social security disability in the month of death.

Lump Sum Death Payment of social security benefits is available only to particular surviving family members. When making the claim, the family will need to provide information and records about the deceased’s social security benefits eligibility and application (if there was one). The SSA will also want to see information about the deceased’s overall disability, starting at fourteen months before death.

Q: What will happen to my social security benefits, once I am already on them, and I die?

A: When you are receiving social security benefits, and have paid social security taxes, some family members may be eligible to receive survivor’s benefits upon your death. In general, for family members to receive survivor’s social security benefits, ten or so years of work will be needed (though this does vary). The following relatives may be eligible for survivors’ social security benefits:

• A spouse, with full benefits when they reach retirement, or some benefits beginning at age 60
• A disabled widow or widower, starting at age 50
• Unmarried children under 18 (or up to 19 if attending high school)
• Children of any age disabled before the age of 22
• Dependent parents who are 62 years old or older.

Q: When should you apply for social security benefits after you have been injured?

A: When you expect that your medical situation will keep you from being employed for 12 months or more, submit your social security benefits application. The review process can take months or years, so it is best to apply as soon as possible. There is no waiting period to apply.

Q: What will be expected of you when your case is heard by an administrative judge?

A: Having your case heard before an administrative judge gives you one final opportunity to have your social security benefits claim reviewed. You, therefore, want to make sure you are present and prepared. If you have an attorney, he will make sure that the court has all the necessary medical records, history and statements from your treating physician. If you do not have an attorney, it will be your responsibility to make sure those details are provided. The statement provided by your physician is extremely important. If your physician is not supportive, consider finding one who is. This may seem obvious, but confirm and mark the court date on your calendar. Make sure you arrive on time for your scheduled court date. Make sure you know where the courthouse is, how you plan to get there and how long it will take to get there. Know what is appropriate attire for that particular court and judge. Be courteous and alert. When you give your testimony and are asked questions, be honest. A hearing offers you one last chance to be awarded social security benefits and it is important to take it seriously.

Q: Is there anything you can do about debt, while you are awaiting notification on social security benefits claim?

A: It will be worth your time to contact any lenders or other businesses with whom you have debt when you know you plan to submit an application for social security benefits. Many institutions will suspend actions against you until you receive notification regarding your claim. You will often need to keep them abreast of the status of your claim. Please recognize that only some institutions will halt collections activities and it is not required.

Social Security taxes are typically deducted from you with every paycheck that you receive from your employer. Most people utilize Social Security for retirement benefits that they can take advantage of when they reach retirement age. However, there is also a certain portion of your Social Security tax that can be used for a disability plan. Even if you are not quite at the retirement age yet, there is a clause in the Federal law that allows you to claim some Social Security benefits if you suffer from an injury or any other type of illness or disease that will prevent you from working. These benefits can be used to provide you with an income source in the event that you are not able to work.

The Social Security Act defines disability as either a physical or mental condition that prevents the sufferer from engaging in any activity that generates income, and that can either result in his or her death or last for 12 months or more. Many people seem to be confused about when they can apply for Social Security disability benefits and when they can begin collecting payments. What you should realize is that it is important that you file for disability as early as you can, even on the day that you are disabled if possible. The act of processing your claim can take much longer than expected and if you wait too long before doing so, you may miss out on some benefits, as well as run the risk of delaying the process even more. Even if you hire the services of a Social Security lawyer, the entire claim process can still last a lot longer than you anticipated. Keep in mind that you will also have to be out of work for at least 5 months before you can begin to receive disability benefits.

The question of why the entire claim process takes so long…often lasting more than a year…is one that comes up often. Even enlisting the help of a Social Security lawyer does not necessarily speed up the time to see a judge. Many people find it quite frustrating to be out of work and unable to claim their benefits, but the severe backlog of Social Security cases is the cause of all this. Since Social Security cases are processed in the order in which they come in, there is little that you can do but wait. In extreme situations, the claims process can take as long as eighteen months and even up to two years.

Even though a Social Security Disability attorney cannot get you to a hearing before an administrative law judge quicker, a good attorney will win your case before you are even scheduled for a hearing. A Social Security Disability attorney will know what evidence is needed to win your case and know how to take advantage of opportunities to win your claim before the hearing—as in winning the claim before the Office of Disability Determinations or writing an On the Record opinion for the judge so that she does not even have to conduct the hearing in your case. In any case, there are a number of obstacles that you have to deal with when filing for Social Security Benefits. With a competent lawyer on your side however, the process can be resolved much sooner than if you take on the task of filing the claim by yourself.