did i hire the wrong law firm?
so here i am again, relying on the kindness of strangers.

1. hired them based on a presentation they gave at a parkinson's support group,
3. went in for an interview, wanted to meet someone and see their office, it was nice and in an office building where rent wasn't cheap. gave my report to paralegal along with proof i had pd, figured they wanted to see it, plus my tax returns and what IRS transcripts I could get from the IRS, figured they wanted proof.
4. paralegal glanced at my paperwork, we talked about my chances of getting ssdi, then she asked if i wanted to fill out a claim on-line, that kind of surprised me but said "sure".

5. she asked me what date i "became" disabled and i said 10/01/2011 since that was the last day i received income from my job, i



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1. they seemed to miss the problem i was going to have with the tax returns, i brought this up in the first meeting, not the 3year3month15day problem which i didn't know about but they should have known about that?
2. they filed the claim during my first visit, it was by chance i brought something proving i had pd. i found that odd that they didn't want any proof about my disability on the first visit.
3. after the SSA claim was denied, i was given a different paralegal, no phone call, just an email from this person with a list of questions to answer. i emailed that person a few times, called, said i had questions about the questions, no call back, got a call from the first paralegal saying my paralegal was on vacation.
4. so, answered the questions the best i could, emailed them to this person and said i still had some questions about my answers.
5. no call back, got an email from this person saying thanks for my answers, they had filed the appeal and had included the letter from my GP, but not my neuro, even though there was one mentioned by SSA in the denial letter.

so i guess my question is, is any other firm going to be any better? nice people but hard to get a call back, they don't apologize, it's like their not returning my calls never happened.

i'm assuming they will kick into high gear when i get to the court phase
TIA for any advice.

The system has flaws as you have observed first hand. The right hand often doesn't know what the left hand is doing.
SSDI is impossible to get if you have any assets at all. At least this was the issue in this state of Fl. Ginnie

I'm sure you meant to say SSI instead of SSDI?

Yes I meant to say SSDI. You can have no monies over a certain amount. ginnie

??? Are you sure ???

I thought if you are found to be disabled- that is SSDI & assents don't matter.

SSI is for very low income/no income and very few assets are allowed??


ginnie, I know you had a very complicated claim with a trust & such so other things came into play due to the complexity..

From my reading here over the years,,,
Most do get a denial first off, then you go forward with more proof and go from there.

Unfortunately due to the aging baby boomer generation, and economy, many are applying I think, so each is a number...
And if you read the threads you will see how slow the system ends up being due to the glut.. so try not to stress over that , don't expect things to be done quickly...

I don't know if you have looked thru the useful stickys on starting a claim and the others but those do have great tips for how to proceed.


Since you mentioned earlier not having many regular drs appts, I would suggest you start going regularly now so your condition can be documented going forward.

Not a quickie appt -maybe a full assessment first with a dr, or a complete evaluation from a qualified PT that reports to the dr.. then again every few months, so changes will be noted. Be sure to tell of any changes that don't show up during appts..

There is something called a functional capacity exam FCE - at some point you may be asked to go for one of those.
Basically a testing of what functions you are able to do or not..

But read thru the sticky threads - it really helps to know those tips and possible pitfalls.
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread148967.html
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread120255.html

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.

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."

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

I respectfully and totally disagree with this statement, but I know that Ginnie believes this to be true based on her experience. I do not believe it to be true.