Do not throw your hands and give up hope. If you, your spouse or your child with disabilities,frustrated and try to collect Social Security disability benefits, you are not alone. The processseems difficult, long and discouraging to each row.

Do not despair. You can apply for restoration of these benefits you deserve when you haveprofessional help and understand that the process was designed to demoralize you, frustrateand discourage you succeed. It's a marathon, not a sprint.

This guide can help you to understand and, through the process of submitting and collectingsocial security disability benefits One thing that can not be overlooked is the importance ofgetting professional help from a lawyer who specializes in Social Security disability claims. Notall attorney understands the process or the experience to maximize your chances of recovery.

You buckles in. Here we go.

Overview:

The Social Security disability program is really two systems, such as (1) Social SecurityDisability Benefits (Title II) and (2) Supplemental Security Income / SSI (Title XVI) are known.Social Security disability benefits may be paid to the employee, and the assistance to thespouse and minor children. , Disability benefits may be paid to the widow (er), aged 50, of adeceased worker. Disability benefits can also be paid to the child, at the age of 18 and over, adisabled, deceased, or retired, when disability begins before the age of 22 social securitysurvivor benefits can be paid to the spouse and minor children of disabled, deceased or retired.Social Security retirement benefits can be paid the appropriate age and their spouses workers.Social Security disability benefits generally require a worker, 31 years and older who haveworked to 5 of the 10 years before they become disabled or 20 calendar quarter of the incomein the 40 calendar quarter period ending with the quarter begins in the disability. Disabledworkers before the age of 31 have special rules, but have begun half the time between age 21and as a disability usually work.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits are paid a form of social assistance, disabled,blind, or aged (65 years) people. To qualify for these benefits the disabled person must havenever worked. In the place of work requirements, SSI has strict income and resource rules.Countable assets amounted to $ 2,000.00 for an individual. Income $ 623.00 not exceed /month, usually (in 2007). The income may be from the parents, are considered to be of minorchildren and spouses of the spouse.

The definition of disability disability benefits for both Social Security and SSI adults. The legaldefinition is as follows:

Inability any substantial gainful activity because of a medically determinable physical or mentalimpairment which can be expected to be in death or which has lasted or expected to be for acontinuous period of not permanent will perform less than 12 months. "Is

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Only not pursue able to your usual job or return to your former employer fails to justify found isdisabled. Employers hiring practices, the non-availability of jobs and a poor local economy, forexample, are not grounds for which is found disabled.

To be considered disabled, as a rule, the applicant shall not be able to exercise requirements(sitting, standing, walking, bending, lifting, carrying) and non load requirements (mentally,visually listening, to perform pain, fatigue, etc.) easily and unskilled sedentary or sitting downjobs. There are professions that require very little lift, allow postural changes, require minimaluse of hands, or require little education or vocational training. Applicants under 50 years of agemay not be able to perform their own unskilled sedentary occupations. For applicants aged 50and over, there are various combinations of age, education, prior work, the skills and the level ofwork can you do that to determine whether disability exists. The definition of disability at the ageof 50, 55 a little easier, and 60

The Disability Process:

Although the Social Security program national or federal extent there are significant local andstate variations on the process, such as case processing times and money rates. A disabilitydecision is often a subjective conclusion, as many medical judgments are gray, not black andwhite. Some judges and administrative law judge (ALJ's) could be more liberal or moreconservative.

The general claim process is to submit an application after a state agency makes the firstdecision submitted. If your claim is denied, you may request verification. After a new decision ifthe plans are not yet granted, you can request a hearing by an administrative law judge. If yourclaim is still denied, you can request a review and appeal Council denied by the AppealsCouncil, the next step is Bundesgerichtshof report. If you are denied at one level, you have 60days after receipt of the rejection, absent good cause to appeal "or file to the next level. Theyare believed to have been notified of the 5 days after the date of the decision, if you can proveinclude input at a later date. Examples of good cause ", but are not limited to, the death orserious illness in the family restricted to the hospital or to refuse to not receive notification.

In 10 states, including Michigan, SSA began testing a program called Prototype. This eliminatesthe review level and allows applicants to go directly from the first refusal of the ALJ hearinglevel. The reasons for the experhyment was that the federal funds rate at the new level tends tobe relatively low. The prototype program was not extended to other states, but it persists in theoriginal 10 states.

The SSA disability process needs as more of a marathon than a sprint be taken intoconsideration. You have to be prepared for the process to take time, and for the rejection. TheSSA process can be aggravating, frustrating, time consuming, and double. Not all applicantshave the resources, will power or endurance to deal with lengthy process SSA. A significantproportion of applicants on a level not refused to appeal to the next level. Some of theseplaintiffs could become better or decided they were not actually disabled have. Many, however,leave the process despite believe that they are disabled because they believe that they do notwin, or not being able to have the system to continue to fight. You need an experienced attorney

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to help you maneuver through the obstacle course and keep your claim through the levels ofreviews and appeals, until you succeed. Representation by an experienced lawyer who is willingto claim your press through all the steps and stages of this process is relieved much of theburden of the applicant in completing the process. The further you get goes into the process,the more likely it is to win one, especially at the ALJ level. The ALJ level is the single mostfavorable level of the process. The ALJ are independent and have more room to feel a plaintiffsubjective complaints of pain, fatigue or emotional distress.

Not all attorney understands the SSA process from both sides of the table. Not all attorneyunderstands the Social Security Act and regulations as well as others. Not all attorneyunderstands medicine, and others. Not all lawyers know how to obtain medical evidence andopinions, to prove in the form of affidavits of doctors, reports, records, or the attending physicianstatements about residual functional capacity and how to use the disabled. You need anattorney with experience in dealing with these cases in order to maximize your chances ofsuccess. Is to apply as soon as possible

Best. Although the law has a 12 mo durational criteria, does not really need to be out of work for12 months or be deactivated before an application has been submitted. Social Security disabilitybenefits can not be paid more than one year before the filing date.

It is very important to make full display as soon as possible in the process. The more thesubjective disability, ie pain or fatigue or emotional problems, the more likely it is to be denied inthe initial or review of levels. Adjudicators at these lower levels have less discretion believemore subjective complaints. There are better and worse ways to end an application. Seeminglyinnocent questionnaires to daily activities, pain, headaches are often relied on the claims DENY.This should be reviewed by your attorney. The attorney and his staff will help you to completethese forms.

Despite statements from SSA, applicants who are trying to find is disabled "do not haveconsultative examinations of SSA will participate. The requested from SSA studies may beincomplete and evaluations of the doctor may be less than impartial. Under SSA order, thetreating physician should be the primary source of medical evidence.

Spend this extra time preparing applications, filling out forms of activity, the management of theconsultative review process does not always guarantee a favorable decision in the first or re-planes, but allowed to help the lawyer, its customers to gain more demands on the ALJ level.

Applicant must continue to doctors see regularly and preferably the same physician (s). Theburden of proof of disability is the applicant. They are to be "probably not hindered until thesatisfaction of the Social Security Administration proving you are. You meet this burden of proofwith your medical records, reports, affidavits, residual functional capacity assessments, etc. Themore medical evidence you have, the easier it is to be your burden is fair. Senior medicalevidence does not necessarily prove current impairment and, more importantly, what to loss offunction. Is awarded by an employer or insurance company VA benefits, workers' compensationbenefits, disability benefits is not necessarily proof of disability to SSA by the Regulation. Eachdisability program has its own unique medical and legal criteria. A doctor you see regularly seen

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a doctor for a long period, is considered a long time doctor and judicial more weight entitled onlyseen once or twice as a doctor. Under appropriate circumstances, the long

Doctor can help control weight "to. It is often very difficult for an applicant represent themselves.Most do not understand complex medical criteria SSA and legal requirements. Most applicantsdo not understand what their medical records say, or whether they help or harm in terms of SSAclaim. You can not always rely request to SSA and to obtain complete medical records orresidual functional capacity assessments by physicians, hospitals and clinics.

You need a lawyer to represent professional a . The applicant at all levels of the process, manylawyers are before or after the ALJ hearing was involved in the early stages of the claim

Fees :.

Social Security and SSI disability claims are usually based on a contingent fee basis, whichmeans you'll be treated not guilty no charge if your claim is approved. Under SSA system whenthey represented by an attorney (or SSA approved non-attorney representative), SSA withholdpayments to the applicant 25% of all returns and his / her family eligible for direct payment of afee. SSA must approve or approve any fee that each employee may bill. You do not payadditional or higher fee to employ an experienced attorney as compared to less experiencedlawyers. In any case, keep an experienced attorney to a lower fee if benefits can be awarded atan earlier stage of the proceedings or before the hearing date. Why not take a lawyer with yearsof experience, handling thousands of claims for rent?

For most applicants, win or lose their Social Security claim means the difference between beingable to retain any normality of life or not.

About The Author

Evan Zagoria of Provizer & Phillips, P.C.,http://www.AskEvan.net; (800) 399-EVAN (3826); hasspent his entire 30+ yr. career handling social security and other disability matters. He is aformer attorney for the Social Security Administration, and a member of N.O.S.S.C.R.

Attorney for Disability Social Security

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