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  Social Security disability may replace some income for adults who become disabled due to a physical or mental impairment.  It may also pay benefits to dependent children who are under 18 years old--or up to age 19 if they are still in high school. Dependent children are usually eligible to receive a benefit in addition to their parent who has become disabled.   Disability has an impact on the entire family.  Children continue to need food, clothing, education and medical/dental care.  Dependent's benefits from Social Security can help cover these expenses for a disabled parent. If your disability claim is being handled by a professional--an advocate or attorney--he/she will be sure to protect your children's rights to benefits.  If you are handling your own claim, be sure to notify Social Security that you have dependent children when you apply for benefits.  When benefits are approved, contact your local Social Security field office (not the he...

Most claims for Social Security disability will wind up before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) for a hearing.  The judge will ask questions involving the following broad areas: Why you believe you are not able to work. Your past work history (in some detail). Your current living and family situation.   Your limitations in activities of daily living.  Here are a few general rules I ask my clients to follow during questioning: 1.  Tell the truth.  Nothing causes more problems than lying. 2.  Don't exaggerate, and don't minimize.    3.  Don't volunteer information you are aren't asked about.  Just answer the question, and STOP. 4.  Never answer a question you don't understand.  Ask for clarification. 5.  Use terms that are well defined or mean the same thing to everyone.  Avoid vague terms like:  sometimes, now and then, not much, a whole lot, not very often, etc.  Better to use terms such as:  about twi...

  The US Government offers benefits to disabled workers through the US Social Security Administration.  This is often called SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance).  But qualifying for the benefit isn't easy.  In fact, it is often very difficult.  There are several reasons for the difficulty: 1.  The program was designed to be long and difficult .  The framers of SSDI didn't want "everyone" to be able to get benefits.  So, they made it hard on purpose. They calculated that there should be at least 14 workers paying FICA (Social Security tax) for each beneficiary receiving benefits.  So, 14 workers supported each beneficiary by paying FICA  tax (payroll deductions) into the trust fund. This worked well for a long time. But over the decades fewer workers supported more and more beneficiaries. Today there are only 2.7 workers supporting each SSDI beneficiary.  As the trust fund dwindles, Social Security finds new way to make new ...

You think you know how Social Security disability (SSDI) works.  You've read about it on the internet, talked to some friends, and done your research.  But after you file your application, most of what you believe about Social Security will turn out to be wrong. Hundreds of claimants walk into my office each year absolutely convinced that they qualify for Social Security disability benefits.  A percentage of them will qualify; however, a lot of them will not. Here I want to give you several things that people think about Social Security, which are absolutely wrong: I have coverage under the Social Security Act.  TRUTH:  You only have disability coverage if you have worked at least 5 years out of the past 10 years and earned at least 20 work credits out of a possible 40 credits.  Otherwise, most individuals will not be covered by the Act.  They may be disabled but still won't qualify for any benefits.  (Work credits are more forgiving for persons u...

If you have worked at least 5 of the past 10 years, you are probably covered by Social Security disability--a US government program to help totally disabled persons who can no longer work. While you are technically "covered" by Social Security based on paying into the system for years, being approved for benefits is difficult and time consuming. The difficulty is proving that you are "disabled according to our rules."  It's Social Security's rules at are tough to get past. For claimants under the age of 50, here's their definition of disability:  You have a severe medical or mental impairment that prevents you from working any full-time job which exists the US economy . (Not local economy, the US economy). The hard part is the word "any."  You can't do ANY job.  That includes unskilled sedentary jobs that require no training or education (maybe not even the ability to read or write).  It includes very low-paying jobs where you can work sit...

Grid Rules help claimants age 50 and over get approved for Social Security disability (SSDI) benefits. The grids take into consideration the claimant's age , e ducation , past work experience and residual functional capacity (RFC). By combining all these factors in the chart or "grid," Social Security determines if an older individual meets their rules for disability benefits. Grids work especially well when the claimant is age 55 or over ("advanced age"), has no sedentary or skilled work within 15 years, and is restricted to either sedentary or light exertion levels.  After your attorney is able to get past steps 1 through 3 of the sequential decision making process, a grid rule will often indicate "disability/award" at Step 4.  Here are the steps I'm talking about: 1.  Is the claimant now working at substantial gainful activity?  (Translation:  Is the claimant now working and earning wages of at least $1,350 per month)?  If no, continue to Step...

  If you are filing a Social Security disability claim (SSDI), your past work history is really important, especially if you are age 50 plus. Most older claimants have their case decided at "Step 4" in the sequential process.  The Step 4 question is:  Can this claimant perform any of his/her past relevant work?  If not, a finding of disabled is warranted by the rules. So, what is past relevant work or PRW ?  It is the work a claimant has performed on a full-time basis during the preceding 15 year period. To determine whether an individual can still perform any PRW, a vocational expert must understand the nature of all the past jobs a claimant has performed.  Three facts are of vital importance when each past job is considered: 1.  Was the work skilled, semi-skilled or unskilled? 2.  What was the maximum lifting/carrying required on each job? 3.  Out of an 8-hour day, how much did the claimant sit/stand/walk on each job? SEDENTARY WORK - woul...