Disability Tip Off

Yes, everyone complains about completion of the forms. Some not only complain, but don’t bother to complete them. Believe me! As bothersome as this is, all the forms are required to begin and complete the process. Your only option is to complete them, otherwise your claim is denied for failure to cooperate. Your claim is kicked out without any other consideration. Granted, some of the forms are difficult to understand. Some of the questions appear repetitive, some even sound ridiculous. But the social security disability approval is based heavily on the answers put on these forms. Many of my claimants, for whatever reason had not gone beyond the tenth grade in school and had difficulty reading and understanding what they needed to do. There is a solution. You can ask anyone who knows you well to help you. Or you can tell someone exactly what you want to say and have him write it down on the forms. The only requirement is that you both sign on the appropriate signature line.

There is preparation that I suggest you do before ever filing your claim. Even though you can file on the internet and over the phone now, I don’t recommend doing this unless you already have in front of you, all your documents, your medical records and relevant information to complete your forms. Your medical records are the meat of your disability claim process. I will discuss this matter in great detail later.

Your application will go through the social security office. It requires certain information. Then your file is sent to the disability examination office which is operated by the State in which you live. This office could be several hundred miles from your home. The disability office will proceed with your claim and send you more forms to complete. Having the needed information and completed forms prior to your filing your claim, will greatly speed up the process. Forms and records always get lost or delayed in the mail system. Whatever you do, make copies of your forms before you mail them. I know you will say, “I don’t have the money to make copies.” But. find a way, a friend, last employer, someone who will do this for you. If you can’t possibly do this, fill out the forms in duplicate or keep a copy of the exact information you put on the form in a safe place. If the original is lost, you will have the correct information in your possession. This will save time if you have to fill out the forms again.

Contact your local social security office and request that a disability application be mailed to you. With the forms it sends, you will receive a list of all the documents you need to submit with your application. Some of these include an original birth certificate, your social security number, the social security numbers of any dependent adults or children who would be recipients of your benefits, wage earnings, marriage license, etc.

You can contact the general social security office hot line for forms at 1-800-772-1213.
You can download many of the forms from SSA website at http://www.ssa.gov.
The disability report forms for adults are SSA-3368-BK, SSA-16-BK and SSA-8000-BK.

The social security office will determine your eligibility for Title II and /or Title XVI. You may be determined eligible for one or more of these programs, but your disability still has to be proven for you to receive benefits.

You need to talk to a field representative in the social security office to learn about the differences in these programs and your eligibility. I will tell you that basically you have to have worked a certain number of quarters to be eligible for Title II. In order to receive Title II (SSD) and Title XVI (SSI), your family income has to be in a certain category. Those eligible for Title XVI only, are children or adults who have never worked or only have a few hours of work history. There are of course exceptions to these that I will not attempt to cover. Accuracy and completeness of the forms is very important. On your next visit, I would like to go into more detail how to complete the forms to ensure that your disability claim will not be delayed due to incomplete information.

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