thank you so much, you have put things in perspective.

http://www.disabilitysecrets.com/page7-5.html

"There is no asset limit for Social Security disability insurance (SSDI) -- BUT, there are two separate disability programs operated by the Social Security Administration.

One disability program is SSDI and the other is SSI (Supplemental Security Insurance). To be eligible for SSDI, an employee has to pay FICA taxes into the Social Security system for many years. Again, for the SSDI program, there is no limit to the amount of assets, cash, or resources you own. In addition, there's no limit to the amount of income you or your spouse makes. But keep in mind that if you make more than a certain amount by working in a job or being self-employed, you won't qualify as disabled because you'll be considered to be capable of substantial gainful activity. And if you make a sizeable income from unearned sources (interest or investments) and/or your spouse makes money from working, you will be taxed on a portion of your SSDI benefits.

The rules for SSI are completely different. To be eligible for SSI, a person has to have low income and low assets (less than $2,000). This is because SSI is a need-based program, whereas Social Security disability insurance is a benefit that workers pay for, and qualify for, through contributions (FICA taxes) paid into the Social Security system (typically through payroll check deductions). For more information on what assets count for SSI purposes, see our article on the SSI property limit."

Yes I am sure. It is SSDI that you can't get in Florida if you have anything to your name. Anything over$ 2,000 is more than what you are allowed. I had a family trust, to pay ONLY for my taxes and Insurances. I was not allowed to keep that trust for my home. Now I am losing my home because I can't pay the taxes. I had a lawyer assistant for my case. All monies I had were used on my health, which the trust expressly forbid me to do. My children could have sued me knowing that I used the money for health, as they were to be beneficiaries.
My taxes cost more than what I am allowed to possess!. Just what do they expect me to do? Right,...leave a paid for home. In Florida, SSDI is supplemental income. I was not allowed to use the trust for anything else but the taxes and insurance. I had to obey the trust but my Government didn't?. I could get no help with SSDI until that was depleted. It's spilt milk at this point, and I resent what was done to me.
If SSDI Denied me, when I should have been allowed to keep my tax and insurance money, it is news to me. I currently get Social security and SSDI. Nobody who has my care will take Medicaid.
The lawyer who wrote the dang thing, didn't know anything about Medicare/Medicaid law. He also knew ahead of time I was sick. My parents tried to protect me from the state taking my home away if I got disabled. I can lose my home now, and my grown son has to pay for my taxes. I don't want to do that to him all of his life. So the only other option is to move.

Guess my case was too complicated for my attorney or anyone else to figure out. Even the Lawyer who wrote it, said to me I was allowed to keep it. That isn't what happened. That isn't what I was told, or allowed to do. ginnie

That's what I meant ginnie, your case was very different & complicated from most, and maybe Florida is different from most states.
I would think it was federally regulated, no matter what state your are located in though......


soccertese is in the NW.

I wanted the differences regarding assets between SSDI & SSI to be clear for most readers, as LIT LOVE posted & explained.

I don't know if Florida is different from other states or not. You would think that the two lawyers involved would have known better. If that situation was bad from the beginning, my parents should have given everything to my son, and leave me out of the picture at all, for all the good it did me. Both lawyers knew how badly my parents tried to help me. I am glad they are gone and cannot see what happened to their good intentions. Sorry I beat on a dead horse, but this was horrible to do to a person. I hope nobody has to go through that issue in this state. ginnie

ssdi is a federal program and has the same rules in all 50 states except for pilot programs such as eliminating the reconsideration stage of the determination process in some states. states administer the determination of eligibility in the initial stage but work under federal rules for the program. there is no way that ssdi is needs based only in florida. this is bad information. you might have both ssdi and ssi if your ssdi was a low enough amount. in that case if your assets were above the level to qualify you for ssi you would lose that portion of what you get a month. you would not lose the whole thing. i know you have said for a few years now that ssdi is needs based but that is incorrect.

I'm sorry Ginnie, but I'm afraid you are mistaken on that issue. I understand it can be confusing because your case involved issues with both SSDI and SSI. The names are the same for both programs in all states. SSDI involves having recent enough work quarters in and total disability. SSI is for low income people with total disability. SSI is the one with a $2000 asset cap for a single person.

I wouldn't want Soccertese, who may end up with SSI as his only option, or other readers to get mixed up on this issue.

Hi Soccertese,

I just wanted to explain a little more here about the info and links LL provided incase you aren't aware of how the system works. An SSDI lawyer or lawfirm gets paid by the SSA, out of your first backpay check, only if you are found to be totally disabled.

The lawyer gets 25% of your earned backpay up to a cap of $6000 (to the best of my knowledge, unless that amount was increased recently). In many cases, the date of disability is recognized as the date of the SSDI/SSI application. Of course, your case is different from most in that regard. SSDI also doesn't pay for the first 5 months of disability. If a lawyer is working for you and you are found to be totally disabled and qualified for SSDI fairly quickly, say with only 2 months of backpay owed on a $1000 a month SSDI case, that lawyer would be paid $500 (25% of the total $2000 backpay amount) and you would get $1500. We have to assume that most lawyers would prefer a $6000 payday per case over a $500 payday. It would take an evil person to deliberately sabotage a case at the early stages, but you can see how a lawyer has no financial incentive to try to push a case through quickly. Combine that with the long waits and frequent backlogs at the SSA and it definitely feels like we, the applicants, are the only ones trying to get a quick resolution to our applications.

I honestly couldn't say whether your law firm is practicing shoddily, with poor attention to detail, or if they only seem lacksadaisical while they are really just waiting for all of the facts to come in to see how this plays out so that they can focus on your best approach.

The thing is, whether or not any of us has confidence in your law firm doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. It sounds like YOU are unhappy with them.

I believe this whole process is so stressful it puts our already compromised bodies into an even more precarious situation. My issues are mostly pain related and added stress makes everything soooooo much worse. Stress doesn't help Parkinson's either.

I think it's critically important to try to relieve as much stress as possible. You can't MAKE the SSA decide things any quicker. You can require that your chosen lawyer not make this process even more difficult. If you KNOW that you just don't trust them, or have confidence in them, move on......try to find another lawyer. Interview them first and explain what concerned you about this firm and look for assurances that they would do things differently. If you are still on the fence about this firm, ask for a meeting to discuss your concerns. Maybe the paralegal doesn't know the rules about the SSA limits on when income was reported, but she was instructed to get your claim started during her meeting with you if you were "hiring" that firm. Maybe she made notes including that info, the lawyer read it, knows the rules, and is working on another angle, and you just don't know about it yet. I would call them and discuss my concerns. If you've already "had it" with them, then just move on.

If you call new lawyers to discuss switching, one of the first things you'll want to ask about is how payment is managed if you started with another lawyer. I heard something before about multiple firms being involved and that meant splitting the fee. I what the details were on that, if it matters how far the first lawyer got, if it's a 50/50 split, or any of that. Some of the more knowledgeable posters on SSDI rules and regs might be able to give some info on that.

Have you read this yet?

http://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/ssact/title02/0205.htm

You want to pay attention to Section 205(c)(5).