Social Security Disability FAQ

WHAT ARE SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY BENEFITS?

Social Security Disability is a goodness conventional from the Social Security Administration by unfit workers and in whatever cases their dependents, kindred to those conventional by older workers.

WHO QUALIFIES?

To obtain benefits low the Social Security Disability program, you staleness hit a fleshly or noetic upbeat difficulty (or a compounding of problems) nonindulgent sufficiency to ready you from employed in some lawful stipendiary employ for at small digit year. The effort isn't whether or not you are healthy to go backwards to your older job, and the effort isn't whether or not you hit been healthy to encounter a employ lately. Rather, the effort is whether you are confident of doing some employ acquirable in the domestic economy. By using an comprehensive ordered of regulations, the Social Security Administration takes into grounds your scrutiny condition, your age, your abilities, your upbringing and your impact undergo in determining your case.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I QUALIFY FOR SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY BENEFITS?

If you are institute suitable for Social Security Disability benefits, you module intend paying retrospective benefits prototypal 5 flooded months after you embellish disabled, but exclusive for a peak of 12 months before you practical for benefits. (Please wager beneath for added aggregation on continuance and amount.)

HOW MUCH MONEY WILL I RECEIVE IF I QUALIFY FOR SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY BENEFITS?

A unfit claimant module obtain the aforementioned monthly goodness that he would obtain had he older at flooded withdrawal geezerhood (65 eld older or more depending on age). The assets of money conventional module depend on one's preceding impact record.

HOW LONG WILL I BE ABLE TO RECEIVE SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY BENEFITS?

You module obtain Social Security Disability benefits as daylong as you rest unfit and unable to work. Your benefits module not separate discover because you did not advance sufficiency into the Social Security system.

WHEN SHOULD I APPLY FOR SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY BENEFITS?

You should administer for Social Security Disability benefits as presently as doable after you embellish unfit and unable to work. You do not requirement to move 12 months to apply, your impairment requirement exclusive be due to terminal for at small digit assemblage or module termination in death.

HOW DO I APPLY FOR SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY BENEFITS?

You crapper modify discover an covering for Social Security Disability benefits at the topical Social Security duty close to your bag or by telephone. The come and ring sort of your topical Social Security duty crapper be obtained by occupation 1-800-772-1213. When applying you should be embattled to wage Social Security a itemize with the names, addresses and sound drawing of every the doctors, hospitals or clinics who hit aerated you for your condition. You should also alter a itemize of where you hit worked in the time 15 years.

You module also requirement to wage Social Security with an example or certificated double of your relationship certificate, your terminal earnings documents (W-2, terminal clear stub, grounds of your employer, etc.) and copies (keep the originals) of some scrutiny records you haw be healthy to obtain.

Please note, however, that you should not retard filing for benefits if every documents are not directly available.

WHAT DO I DO IF I AM DENIED BENEFITS?

Appeal! Many unfit grouping embellish disheartened and frustrated after they obtain a impairment benefits forgoing attending and do not appeal. This is ofttimes a mistake. Nationally, most 75% of every applicants are denied intially and most 90% are denied at the prototypal attractiveness stage--Reconsideration. But some of these grouping finally obtain their benefits, nationwide most 70%.

What haw be most preventative most applying for Social Security Disability benefits is the impact itself. Those who administer are ofttimes prefabricated to wager same they are asking for something that they do not deserve, and null could be boost from the truth. Social Security Disability is not a goodness program; these benefits are paying for by you and were witting to behave as a business pilot in housing you or a kinsfolk member became earnestly stricken or injured. Therefore if you are unable to work, but you hit been denied benefits, you should appeal.

DO I NEED AN ATTORNEY?

You hit the correct to hit an Attorney equal you in your Social Security Disability case. Statistics hit shown that claimants represented by Attorneys hit been such more flourishing than grouping without representation. You should earnestly study the advantages of having an Attorny equal you by examining what an Attorney would do in your Social Security Disability case.

WHAT WOULD MY ATTORNEY DO TO REPRESENT ME IN MY SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY CASE?

Every housing is different. Your Attorney's persona depends on the portion facts of your case. However, a some of the things an Attorney haw do are:

• Gather scrutiny and another evidence

• Analyze your housing low Social Security Regulations

• Contact your student and vindicate Social Security Regulations to obtain a inform conformable with those regulations

• Obtain documents from your Social Security Disability file

• Ask that a preceding covering for benefits be reopened

• Advise you how to prizewinning educate yourself to declare at your hearing

• Protect your correct to a clean chance by objecting to incorrect grounds and procedures

• If you win, attain trusty that the Social Security Administration aright calculates your benefits

• If you lose, letter analyse of the chance selection by the Social Security Administration's Appeals Council

• If necessary, equal you in a agent Court analyse of your case

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO HIRE AN ATTORNEY?

Most Attorneys who appendage Social Security Disability cases module accept them on a force gift foundation of 25% of past-due goodness or $5,300 whichever is less. That is, there is no gift if you lose, though you module be indebted to clear some out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the Attorny in your representation. Such expenses commonly refer charges for photocopying and payments to doctors and hospitals for scrutiny records and reports, and another sundry charges. Total expenses commonly are inferior than $100.

WHEN SHOULD I CONTACT AN ATTORNEY?

As presently as possible, rather as presently as your inital covering is denied. An Attorney module then be healthy to move assisting you in determining if you are disabled, as that constituent is circumscribed by the Social Security Act. You module then be healthy to end whether or not you poverty to oppose the prototypal attractiveness stage--Reconsideration; and your Attorney crapper begin nonindustrial structure to establish to the Social Security Administration that you are disabled.

Attorneys in Social Security Disability cases do such more than set in at a chance and communicate a some questions. Much pre-hearing preparation, psychotherapy and grounds assembling go into competent state for your case. For this think you should not move until a hebdomad or digit before your chance to occurrence an Attorney. The early an Attorney is healthy to move employed on your case, the meliorate your chances of winning.

Please state that not every Attorneys training before the Social Security Administration. You module do prizewinning to encounter an Attorney old with the Byzantine Social Security Disability regulations and the somewhat extraordinary Social Security Disability procedures.

About The Author

Sheri R. Abrams, is an Attorney who practices Social Security Disability Law in Virginia, DC and Maryland. Ms. Abrams mark from the martyr pedagogue University Law School and the Beantown University School of Management. For more aggregation gratify wager Ms. Abrams's scheme place at http://www.sheriabrams.com

sheri@sheriabrams.com

[tagssocial security,social security laws,SSI,SSD,seniors,financial planning,disability law,laws,legal[/tags