Hello Everyone,
Just registered to the site in hopes of helping my brother. He is in his 50s and lives with my ailing father, 88. To make a long story short, my brother has never held down a job and is entirely dependent on my father for income. We know my brother has mental health issues (don't know what) and I am investigating the possibility of his qualifying for SSD. I have learned the first step is to find a doctor with SSD experience to have him diagnosed. Does anyone know of this type of physician in the vicinity of Riverside, CA? Many thanks.

Any doctor can complete the paperwork for SSDI or SSI.

Your brother needs a PCP to see if he has any other health issues AND a psychiatrist for a thorough mental health exam for a diagnosis, possible treatments, and then a prognosis. Maybe with treatment, he could work. He will need to show that he is undergoing regular treatment for whatever conditions may be diagnosed.

If he has never held a job, he cannot qualify for SSDI benefits since that is a program for people who have worked and can no longer work.

If it can be proven that his medical condition was severe before he turned age 22 (and that would medical records dated about 30 years ago), he might be able to get benefits on his father's Social Security record. However, if he never got medical treatment, there won't be any 30 year old evidence. Even if he did see a doctor once or twice but there was no ongoing treatment for mental illness, it would be very difficult to establish that he has had severe mental illness for over 30 years, so that is a real long shot claim too.

There is the low income, Supplemental Security Income program that he could apply for. Has he been added to your father's bank accounts, home property? Does he have ownership (jointly or individually) of any assets? Does he have any cash income? And, SSI will find the things that are not reported, so be up front about it. He could apply for that today, even without evidence. SSA would send him for a snapshot exam to determine his mental state. However, unless he is obviously severely schizophrenic or psychotic, one exam by SSA does not usually establish that a person is or has been or will be severely mentally ill for more than 12 months.

It is important to know that the SSI application has no retroactivity before the month of application and any denial can be appealed. So although it is highly possible that a claim filed without evidence will be denied, it is also possible for the claimant to keep the claim active by filing an appeal WHILE gathering evidence and proof that he is disabled. SSA will only authorize a one-time exam so there may not be enough evidence to approve a claim, but if your brother doesn't get started, he will never be approved. I think that he should both file an SSI claim and seek medical attention.

Also, your brother is an adult. You can encourage, cajole, nag him, but you cannot file a claim on his behalf. You cannot force him to see a doctor. And if your father has been enabling his mental illness for the last 30 years, and your brother is uncooperative, you may have to wait until your father is gone and your brother's situation becomes a crisis before he is willing to do something.

You and your siblings need to have a frank discussion with your father and your brother and I also suggest that all of you take a close look at your father's financial affairs and make sure everything is in order.