I would talk to the SSI office that you deal directly with. If you can answer any of the questions they ask. Then you wouldn't need a representative payee. The only other reason I can think of they would have thought you need one is if they think you might not pay your bills and waste your money instead. And then not have a roof over your head.

donna

hello and thanks for the reply.I just got a letter from the local office telling me of a coming appointment and that i need to bring in someone to be my payee well im really mad at this but I still dont know what my options are and cannot get ahold of my lawyer..of course my lawyer is going to get paid so she probably does not care about that..thanks again.

Do you have a relative that you could bring that would be supportive of you handling your own funds? What about your doc's opinion?

If you do gain control of the funds, please don't use your backpay to pay off debt collectors, if you've accumulated bad debts while waiting. Just don't mix non-SSD funds in the same bank account to safeguard your money.

hi and thanks for your advice LIT LOVE..I will be taking my mother to the meeting and she said she will agree that I have been handling my money just fine,I also talked to my doctor and he said that he would write a letter on my behalf basically saying that i can handle my financial affairs..I am going to file for bankrupcy very soon so im hoping my collectors dont get into that money, thanks so much for taking the time to read this and giving me some great advice, please take care.

There is likely no reason for you to file bankruptcy. Your SSD monthly income and backpay can't be garnished by creditors and/or collection agencies to whom you have old debts with even if they go to court and receive a judgement against you. The only exception is if you committed fraud--and then bankruptcy wouldn't protect you either!

Bad debts stay on your credit reports 7 years starting when you first became delinquent and made no more payments. If you make even a $1 payment, this restarts the clock.

A bankruptcy will stay on your credit report for 10 years, with the starting date beginning when you file.

So, let's say you have a credit card bill you stopped paying when you became disabled in January of 2007, it will stop hurting your credit in January of 2014. If you file for bankruptcy next month, that same debt will hurt your credit until 2021!

Utilize the free information in the forums at the link below:

http://creditboards.com/forums/

What are you trying to accomplish by filing for bankruptcy?

while im not a fan of filing bankrupcy I have been harassed so much by creditors that is not helping my state of mind for sure I will see what my options are thanks for the advice.

There are ways to get them to stop bothering you without resorting to bankruptcy.

How old are your debts, when was the last time you made payments? What state do you you live in? Send your answers by pm if you prefer.

I can help with the basics, but there are advocates that will help you deal with these matters if it comes to that!