My ex wife has SSDI; she is the custodial parent. Will her Social Security insurance cover my kids getting braces and pay 100% of the cost?
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I am currently receiving Social Security disability benefits. Is my child eligible to receive monthly benefits?
By Mike
I had 1 SSN# from 1972 to 1996. I got new card with a change of birth year and my name changed, and place of birth to get away from my abusive husband who wanted to kidnap my child and take out of country. Now I am disabled and getting disability. The SSA cut my check by $500 monthly and wants proof of pay stubs or W2 from 1972 to 1986. I have tried the SSA and the employment office and others. What do you suggest? Oh, where I worked for 12 years 1972-1986 is no longer in business and the owners are deceased. Can you help me?
By Sonia
I am about to apply for Social Security Disability. In my mind, I have been eligible for 12 years, but have continually been turned down. The head of the heart transplant team at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City even sent a letter saying I had to have a transplant or I would die. (I did improve so that the transplant was not necessary). But I still can't work enough to earn a living. Do you have any tips for me on how to meet their requirements and document my medical condition? I really need help! Thanks in advance!
Coreen,
If you have been turned down more than once by the SSA, I suggest that you contact a lawyer whose speciality is disability claims.
MikeL
I've known several people who have tried for years to get on Social Security Disability and only succeeded after they got an attorney. They will take a portion of what you get for the original settlement but you usually get money back to when you first applied. I think (based on several friends experience) that it is the government's policy with SS and with VA benefits to deny as many claims as possible.
Susan from ThriftyFun
I work for SSA taking dib claims. If you are turned down and do not agree with the decision, by all means, keep filing that appeal. An attorney can be a good idea, there are several out there. I would recommend going on SSA's web site and filing out the form SSA-3368 and filing online. The form is better in your own words and this gives you the time to tell them in your words what your disablility is.
I am on disability andi have found is they want to know what your worst day is like!
I have good days and bad days and I can tell you the bad days for me are like a walking disaster! Also, an attorney is essential anymore. They can do quite a bit for you, as they have experience that we don't have in fighting for your needs.
Remember, you need to be proactive on this. Send in the forms. Call Social Security up and ask for help from them. Be very careful to send any information in ON-TIME or at least call and ask what you can do if you're late. Many times the first application is denied because they don't have all the information to make the decision. Call SSA and ask if your file is complete and ask which doctor doesn't have information turned in. Call the doctor yourself and encourage them to turn it in. Call social security again 15 days later to see if your file is complete again. When it is, ask approximately how long it will take for a decision to be made (like 6 weeks). Put the date on the calander and call at that time if you haven't heard yet. The name of the game is persistence. Be always patient and polite with docs and with the disability determination office, but be PERSISTENT! You're not "bothering" them. This is essential to your life situation and you have the right to know -- as long as you are pleasant and patient. Yelling at them or becoming a pest never helps and may be detrimental to your case.
Be sure to appeal if they deny you. It has to be sent in within 60 days. If you are denied again, then you must appear in court before a judge at the next level of appeal. Particularly at that time you'd need a lawyer. You pay nothing up-front to the lawyer. A lawyer will evaluate your case to see if they will accept it. If you are denied disability then you pay the lawyer nothing. If you win disability, then you get a back-payment back to when your disability started. (I got 2 yrs of backpayment which was about $16,000.) The lawyer receives a quarter (25%) of the backpayment whatever it ends up being. Social security stipulates this fee schedule so it is consistent across the country. A lawyer may not charge more.
It is important to get a lawyer whose practice is primarily disability law. It is complicated stuff. You don't want someone who handles one case a month. They won't know the ins and outs of it and they won't know the judges who hear these cases in your area.
If you miss the date for sending in an appeal (like I did), don't worry about it. You can send in a new application and start over. Then resend all the information again.
Good luck.
coolchinchilla
Another thing...
A lawyer can be helpful in a number of ways. They know how to word things on your application so that social security will accept it. Of course only report the truth, but it is important to report the grimmest side of the truth. Another poster said to report how your bad days are and how many bad days you have in a month. For example, maybe you feel ok many days, but in a 20-day work month, you'd have to call in sick 8 of those days. No employer could work around a schedule like that. A lawyer can help a physician report the information in such a way that social security will accept it. Not all docs know how to fill these out effectively. They are used to cryptic notes in charts which mean a lot to another doc but not to a non-medical person.
The definition social security uses for disability is pretty strict. It is if you cannot be gainfully employed which is defined as earning $800+ per month. Not whether you could work the job you left, but if you can work anything at all and earn more than $850/month. (The amount changes over time.) So your answers to social security's question must be valid for any job at all, not just pertaining to the nursing job you had before for example.
Keep working on it. You'll make it.
coolchinchilla
I am a RN who tried twice on my own to apply for SSDI. I was told by my counsleor that going to an attorney who specializes is the only way I would ever get disability income. I took her advice and sure enough! Plus I was reimbursed from the date of my accident (4 years prior) and was given Medicare Insurance that has been an absolute blessing.
Good luck!
I am 13. My mom pased away in 2014. She had full custody of me. She was on SSDI for mental health problems and hadn't worked much.
I now live with my dad. My question is, can I get SSDI benefits for me?You can get survivor benefits based on how long she worked. Make an appointment with Social Security and bring your birth certificate and her death certificate.
If someone is on Social Security disability in the state of Virginia, when they die does the widow have the option of getting his income as opposed to hers? I know some women get their husband's benefits, but does that apply to Social Security disability as well?
By Kateland
I have a problem!
I had a heart attack and back injuries in 2001. I was not able to return to work. I was told my a number of doctors. It took till 2006 for me to get SSDI benefits. Before I had SSDI Benefits I had a long term Insurance that I had though work. They were paying me a monthly income from 2001 till 2006. It was based on 60% of my working salary.
I filed for disability a while back and have not been granted it just yet. I have listed many doctors and hospitals or facilities I have been to, but for some reason they have not got in touch with those doctors because when they mail be back saying I can appeal and all that it tells me who was asked and if anything was sent.
Anyhow my main problems are mental issues, but I so have some physical problems also. My question is, how can I win this? I have tried finding a lawyer, but I don't have the funds. I can't work and that sucks. It's not fun staying home all day doing nothing. The friends I do have all have jobs and they can't hang out while they work. I just wish I had some way to take care of myself because my grandma is paying for my food and such. Is there a way I can win by myself?
I have recently found out I have qualified for SS disability. I'm happy, but I also have started feeling a bit strange about it. I have hurts and pain and hardships in completing tasks.
They fully vetted me. I didn't cheat or anything I think I feel guilty. Is there anyone else out there on disability?My father was approved for disability, but passed away before officially receiving his payment and back pay! I was contacted by the disability company and was told I would be getting those funds.
My question is does this payment go directly to me as the next of kin or will it be divided between my other siblings?My son was hit by a car last year and suffered a broken leg and major tissue loss to that leg. He is walking with a crooked leg and will need numerous surgeries in the future for the skin replacement. He can't run without falling. He has pain due to the weather and I have trouble finding him shoes that fit his foot comfortably. Does he qualify for disability?
By Sherry