(REMASTERED) 1.8.12 (attorney; child support; disability process)

0:22 Happy New Year, Happy New Year, and happy New Year to you. My name is Anthony Reeves. I'm an attorney, a practicing and Social Security disability. So let's go ahead and get started answering your questions for the new year. All right, Our first question of the new year is do I have to hire a representative in the state where I live to represent me. One of the things that a lot of people don't know is if just in case you're not aware, is that Social Security is a federal program. Therefore, it doesn't matter whether you're represented is in your state or in another state, as long as they are able to practice before the Social Security Administration.

1:07 You can have someone who is not in your state representing you. Also, keep in mind that you can either have an attorney or non attorney representatives. Social Security is one of the few systems out there that actually allows the non representatives to practice before the Social Security Administration.

1:24 The only time having an attorney or having an attorney for your particular state becomes relevant is if you're not successful in getting your benefits after going through the hearing process and even going through the appeals council process. Because once you get denied by the Appeals Council. The only avenue that you have then is to sue the commissioner in federal court. At that point, you're going to want to have an attorney in your jurisdiction who's admitted to the court in your jurisdiction if your case is one that needs to be moved forward beyond the administrative phase.

2:00 This is your second question, how long do I have to wait hearing once I've asked for one? The primary question that was posed and hypothetical to me was someone who actually filed for requests for hearing in April of twenty eleven. Here we are in January twenty twelve, and they still haven't gotten hearing date. Okay, let's kind of walk this through first and foremost. When you're asking for a hearing date, the hearing date is set based on the date you asked for a hearing, not the date you filed. So let's say in this example, I think you filed in twenty ten, the request for hearing was filed in twenty eleven. Of course, we're not paying attention to when you filed your application. The date that's relevant

2:37 is the date you actually filed your requests for hearing. Now, the other part is how long you have to wait. It depends on what jurisdiction you're in. Now, I'll tell you as a member of the National National Organization of Social Security claim its representatives, we regularly get updates as to the timelines in terms of how what is the average time per office? If I don't miss my guest, I think this information is also available on www. Dot SSA dot gov's website. Why is that important for you to know? Well, that gives you an approximation of how long certain offices have in terms of processing their case. Like, for instance, one office may take less than three hundred and sixty five days, So that means from the day

3:18 you file your request for hearing, you'll probably get a hearing date less than a year from that date. Some which they're working on trying to widdle down these times are up to almost two years. So that means from the time you file your requests of hearing, it may not be it may be two years later. What I would tell you is that if you have a representative, ask your representative if they can give your approximation based on their dealings with the particular office, or you can call the hearing office and ask them. Here's one of the things that I tell people all the time. There's no set timeline for when Social Security has to have your hearing. So if there's something going on whereby they're reallocating,

3:56 they're getting more cases from other areas, they've expanded their area used to, they've gotten more judges, more judges retire, a lot of different varying things come into play. There may not be an accurate indication of what's the exact date you're gonna have your hearing. I tell people rule of thumb, brace yourself twelve to sixteen months. Just brace yourself for that. So this way, when you get ready for the hearing and it comes around, you're ready for it.

4:27 All right, Let's go to our third question, and this is an awesome question. Someone asked about what is leaving the country. How does leaving the country affect your eligibility with regards to going during the disability process. Here's what I tell people all the time. The only thing that you have to worry about about leaving the country affects really one or two things. If you're trying to apply and whether you've been awarded. Now follow me, and when I explain this. There are thumb instances where if you're in another country, you may not in certain countries, you may not be able to file from those countries of weird because they may not have places in those locations for you to be able to file. So that's the

5:05 first part. The back end is that if you get approved and you're getting disability benefits some countries, the Social Security Administration or as a result, the federal government will not allow funds to be released into those countries. So those are really the two areas you need to be worried about. If you haven't applied at all, or if you're getting money. A dam in the middle, it doesn't really matter much. So let's kind of give it a good example. Let's say you file for disability in Florida, and then you, of course, you know you've got maybe you have children who live in Germany, your children that live in Turkey, and they're in the military, and they want you to come visit them for a few weeks.

5:40 So they fly you over and you're thinking, oh my gosh, will it kill my case? Now. I won't kill your case, not while you're over there. Now. I will tell you this, if you leave the country during the process, you might want to let some security know why, well, if they need access to medical records or information from you, if they need to send you forward a doctor's appointment, if you have a hearing penning and you're coming close to that hearing, it might be stink if they're trying to find you and they can't find you and you're not in the country. So my biggest thing is why you're going during the disability process, just make sure you let people know that you're going to be gone for a period of time if you're leaving the country, and then

6:14 let them know when you're back, so if something comes up, they can let you know. But for purposes of eligibility, does that mean will it kill your case if you leave the country for a while then come back. No, it should not, all right, going on to your fourth question, child support and your retroactive back pay as well as your monthly benefits. A lot of people I have to kind of explain to them that if you are found disabled and you owe child support, so Security administration typically enables various state agencies which use your in your state Department of Revenues to garnish any outstanding child support that you owe. So now your question then comes, well, how much can I expect to be taken? Here's where I

7:03 tell you to contact. This is where you really need to contact your state Department of Revenue as well as your state Solid Security office excuse me, as well as your locoso scurity off First, on the one hand, they're not more likely not going to take your whole back pay. So if you're owe a lot and you're freaking because they're going to take the whole thing, I've never seen that happen. Are they going to take a percentage? Absolutely, but you want to find out what the relationship is with that particular department of Revenue to determine how much that's going to be in terms of your back pay.

7:32 Same thing in terms of your monthly benefit. They're going to take a portion of your benefits out of your check per month. The idea is they're not going to gash the whole thing, because you don't want to be in a situation where you take all your money because they take all your money, then you're not able to live because you're not getting anything. But they are going to take a percentage. So I encourage you to contact your state department of Revenue or whichever state apartment that's responsible for covering riarages, and contact your solid security office and tell them that you're trying to determine what it is in terms of the percentage of your back pay monthly payments they'll be taking out to take care of

8:06 your child support expense. Do that now ahead of time, So this way, if you're trying to prepare yourself for what you're going to be looking at, you'll know ahead of time. All right. Our last question of the day focuses on consultative psychological evaluations more important neurological psychological testing.

8:31 Person asked me what did I think about those tests? Here's one of the things that I tell people all the time. Social Security typically sends you for testing for usually one or two reasons, one to resolve some inconsistencies in the file, or two if they need more evidence in order to make an informed decision, like in this instance, the person was asking me about IQ testing. Well, let's kind of give it an example. Let's say that the individual was someone who was held back in a lot of classes, was in special education. It's clear that they have problems with reading, writing, and doing math, and they have a hard time for understanding things. Well, that information, along with your school records may alert Social Security that

9:12 there may be an indication that there may be some learning disability. Well, if no one has ever tested you to determine whether you actually have a learning disability, well, then what they'll do is they will order you to take a test in order for that test to reveal to them if your scores indicate that you have a learning disability. So I always tell a lot of times people get offended or upset when they see these tests, whether because they believe, oh, they've got everything they need.

9:38 Why are they asking me a test again? And I tell people, listen, it really is to your benefit for them to sendia test. Some representatives disagree with me with regards to this, but I'm always like, this is my philosophy when it comes to test for two reasons. One, if you're missing something, it fills into blank. But if there's a problem, it lets the representatives know and lets me know ahead of time. So if there's something that can be thick, we can try to fix it or at lead to bring it to your attention so you can address it. So I tell people this, if those security is sending you for a consultative evaluation. That does not necessarily mean a bad thing. It may mean they need more information, or that there's some conflict within the

10:14 medical records. It is a lot of time more to your benefit than you realize. All Right, everyone again, I want to welcome you to a brand new year, twenty twelve. Keep those comments and keep those questions going. For those of you who may not know, if you visit my blog page, I actually have a chat function, so during the week, especially on Sundays because this is my marketing day, catch me up. Then if you see me on their Live and you have a question, bill free to come in and ask it. I'll be more happy to do so.

10:50 If not, keep those questions in those comments coming, and we will make sure we address them. My name is Anthony Reeves, and today again it's another episode of Your Q and a Your Disability Today that astutetuting and expect what attinget