I have MS, and have been receiving SSDI for 22 years. I'm 55 years old. My husband has had a small lawn care business (sole proprietorship) for the past 14 years. Throughout this time, I've helped with billing, taxes, and general paperwork. I'm able to do this when I feel up to it, and it's just a few hours here and there without any pay.

Because I’m on disability, I've always kept my name and signature off of most paperwork. I figured that it was just simpler that way, rather than have someone from the SSA notice and say "Hey, it looks like you're running a business! You don't need to be on disability!" I'm sure that I'd be able to straighten it out if I had to (with lots of stress and a ream of paperwork), but I decided to just avoid a potential problem altogether.

My question is whether I should even worry about this. Will the SSA care that my name is on paperwork for the business even though I’m on disability? Would they even find out? (Is Big Brother that smart?) Like I said, I’m just working on it a little bit at a time as I’m able, but I don’t know if the SSA would recognize that distinction..

We’re applying for a small business loan now, and my name is ending up on everything because I’m the one doing the paperwork, and making the contacts. I’m a little paranoid. Should I be?