The post Can I Receive SSDI Benefits for My Work Injury? appeared first on The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur.
]]>In short, the SSA’s SSDI benefits program may not cover your work injury. Rather, you must seek coverage via a workers’ compensation program provided by a federal or state agency, your employer, or an insurance company on behalf of your employer.
You must understand that these programs have different functionalities. For one, SSDI benefits may only be available to you after earning a substantial work history. On the other hand, workers’ compensation benefits may be made available to you on your first day of employment. What’s more, SSDI benefits may be given to you for any long-term disability that precludes any gainful work activity, whether it arose while you were on or off the clock. Contrastingly, workers’ compensation benefits may only be given to you if your long-term disability arose directly in the course of your employment.
Say, for instance, that you are eligible for both SSDI benefits and workers’ compensation benefits. Well, the short answer is that you may simultaneously collect from both benefits programs. However, the caveat is that collecting from both may reduce the total amount of payment you receive. That is, your total amount of earned benefits cannot exceed 80 percent of your average current earnings before you incurred a disability.
For example, say that you earned $5,000 a month from your employment. Now, say that you earn $3,000 from SSDI benefits and $2,000 from workers’ compensation benefits. But since your earned benefits cannot exceed 80 percent of $5,000 (i.e., $4,000), then your SSDI benefits may be reduced from $3,000 to $2,000.
It is worth mentioning that there are other public benefits programs outside of workers’ compensation that do not affect your monthly SSDI payout. Namely, these programs are Veterans Administration benefits; Supplement Security Income benefits; and state and local government benefits, if Social Security taxes are deducted from your earnings.
When filing your SSDI benefits claim, there is no other than a skilled New Jersey SSDI benefits lawyer to be in your corner. So please get in touch with us at The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur today.
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]]>The post Can SSDI Benefits Be Subject to Division in a Divorce? appeared first on The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur.
]]>With the division of assets in your divorce proceedings, the New Jersey family court may categorize your and your former spouse’s assets as separate or marital assets. For one, separate assets are considered those only owned by one spouse; which was likely acquired by the one spouse before the marriage, after the separation, or as an individual gift or inheritance. Secondly, marital assets are those owned by both spouses; which were likely accumulated throughout the marriage.
Next, the judge may work under New Jersey’s equitable distribution law. This law holds that each spouse is to get a fair share of the marital assets. To emphasize, separate assets are not included in this split. Further, this “fair” split does not necessarily mean an equal, 50/50 split.
Now having this understanding, you may still wonder whether your SSDI benefits will be considered a marital asset that is thereby to be fairly divided in your divorce. Well, the short answer is that these monthly payments are generally not viewed as marital assets. However, this may get more complicated if you have been depositing your checks into a joint bank account under both your and your former spouse’s names. This is why we recommend that, if you have not done so already, to deposit your checks in a separate bank account established exclusively to hold your government benefits.
In addition, the New Jersey family court may consider your monthly SSDI benefits payments as one of your sources of income. Therefore, this may affect how much spousal support and child support you may be ordered to in your divorce decree.
The bright side to all this, however, is that you may rest assured knowing that the amount of SSDI benefits payments you receive every month will not alter in the aftermath of your divorce. This is because these payment amounts are based on your work record rather than being need-based.
All in all, you may be intimidated by the proceedings that lie ahead of you. But the best way to relieve some of this worry is to have a skilled New Jersey SSDI benefits lawyer stand by your side throughout. Contact The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur at your earliest possible convenience.
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]]>The post What Types of Injuries Qualify for SSDI Benefits? appeared first on The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur.
]]>Firstly, the SSA enforces a list of physical injuries that qualify for its SSDI benefits program, made accessible on its website. This list is broken down into 14 categories of possible impairments, which read as follows:
You must understand that the SSA updates its list of eligible physical injuries each year, as new information and medical treatments become available. As of 2024, prevalent physical injuries that appear on this list read as follows:
Even if you see your physical disabilities listed above, it is still in your best interest to first consult with an attorney. This is so you may confirm that you are eligible to begin with; before you commit yourself to the long and extensive process of applying for SSDI benefits.
There is not necessarily a time limit for filing your application for SSDI benefits. But even still, if you do not apply in a timely manner, you may miss out on some of your opportunities for financial aid.
This is because the SSA may only pay you retroactive SSDI benefits for the 12 months before your application submission date. So for example, if your physical disability onset date was 15 months before your application submission date, you may lose three months’ worth of payout.
For this reason alone, you must not sit idly by; but rather take immediate action by retaining the services of a competent New Jersey physical disability SSDI benefits attorney. Contact The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur today.
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]]>The post Do I Lose SSDI Benefits in Bankruptcy? appeared first on The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur.
]]>The short answer is that it is unlikely that you will lose your SSDI benefits payments upon your bankruptcy filing. This is because the federal bankruptcy code bars courts from taking these funds.
However, you may still have to make an effort to prove the amount of previous SSDI benefits payments that you have since deposited in your bank accounts, so that they may remain untouched. Further, you may have to argue to the court that you require the entirety of these monthly payments to be adequately supported.
As you likely already understand, declaring bankruptcy is a serious decision with serious repercussions. Not only might you run the risk of losing certain assets and properties, but you may also damage your credit score and have this incident publicly disclosed on your credit report for the years to come.
This is all to say that there may be alternative resolutions to seeking additional financial aid to adequately support yourself. For one, say that you incurred your disability as a direct result of being made a victim in a catastrophic accident. Well then, our attorneys would likely advise you to consider filing a personal injury claim against the negligent party instead. With this, the court may order the defendant to pay compensatory damages, punitive damages, and more so that you may be better able to reach a full recovery.
Secondly, our attorneys may assist you in updating the Social Security Administration (SSA) on any life updates that may make you eligible for increased monthly SSDI benefits payments. For example, you may notify the SSA once you have experienced the death of a spouse or an adult child, you have reached retirement age, or you have earned additional work hours, among other things.
Lastly, our attorney may direct you toward other government assistance programs that you may apply for, such as unemployment insurance (UI), temporary assistance for needy families (TANF), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), or otherwise.
The best way you can ensure your financial protection is by retaining the services of a competent New Jersey SSDI attorney. So please contact The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur today.
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]]>The post What Are the Risks of Appealing an SSDI Decision? appeared first on The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur.
]]>You must understand that only a minority of applications for SSDI benefits are approved at the initial level. More specifically, as of 2022, the approval rate for initial applications was 32 percent nationally and 42 percent in the state of New Jersey. Further, this approval rate only lessens at subsequent appeals levels. The national and state approval rate for the reconsideration level is 15 percent and 14 percent, respectively; while the hearing level has an approval rate of 54 percent and 57 percent, respectively.
Therefore, if you are one of the lucky ones who gets approved at any of these levels, you may want to seriously contemplate the pros and cons of seeking higher monthly payments via the appeals process. One of the best-case scenarios with appealing your SSDI decision is that a judge may issue you a partially favorable decision. That is, they may acknowledge that you are or were disabled and thereby qualify for benefits, but they may still rule that you do not qualify for the full-back benefit award you initially claimed.
On the flip side, one of the worst-case scenarios is that an appeals council may rule contrary to a judge’s decision. With this, they may find you entirely ineligible for SSDI benefits and ultimately revoke any amount of payment you were initially granted.
Also worth considering is the time commitment and work commitment associated with the appeals process. At the hearing level, the national and state average wait time is 10 months and nine months, respectively. This timeline accounts for the time on which you initially request a hearing to the time your hearing is finally scheduled. This is not to mention the additional medical and employment documents that you may have to dig up; the doctor’s appointments you may have to attend; the legal fees you may have to pay; and more.
All in all, there are many benefits to appealing an SSDI decision, so long as it is done correctly. So please do so with a skilled New Jersey SSDI appeals lawyer from The Law Office of Sheryl Gandel Mazur. We look forward to having a conversation with you.
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]]>The post How Can a Lawyer Help Me in the SSDI Appeals Process? appeared first on The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur.
]]>It is likely that you indeed have a physical, mental, or emotional disability that is severe enough to qualify for SSDI benefits. Yet you may have failed to adequately portray this reality to the SSA. Without further ado, below are possible reasons as to why your initial SSDI benefits application may have been denied:
Simply put, a lawyer may work to ensure that you are properly prepared to undergo the SSDI appeals process; all while working on your behalf to ensure that your appeal is given proper consideration. Without further ado, a lawyer may help you through the following steps:
Undoubtedly, there is much to consider before filing an appeal. But of note, our team has over 30 years of experience in handling appeals just like yours. This is why your next order of business should be to initiate a conversation with a skilled New Jersey SSDI appeals lawyer. Someone at The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur will await your phone call.
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]]>The post Can I Get SSDI Benefits for My Traumatic Brain Injury? appeared first on The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur.
]]>First of all, by definition, a traumatic brain injury may arise when a penetrating object goes into the skull and contacts the brain tissue; when a penetrating object fractures the skull bone; or when an external impact causes a rapid forward and backward shaking of the brain against the skull. Nevertheless, such events may ultimately lead to significant brain damage.
With this, the SSA recognizes that a traumatic brain injury may present physical symptoms, mental symptoms, or a combination of both. More specific examples read as follows:
It is worth mentioning that a mild traumatic brain injury typically does not qualify for SSDI benefits under the SSA’s listing for neurological disorders. Therefore, in your application, you must argue that you are suffering from a severe traumatic brain injury. You may strengthen this argument by supplying proof like your emergency room records, your CT scan and MRI scan results, your IQ testing results, and more.
Overall, this proof is meant to further demonstrate that your physical and mental functioning has significantly declined to the point where you are unable to return to or maintain gainful employment. Lastly, this proof must exhibit that your disability has lasted for at least three months.
So even if you are just considering applying for SSDI benefits, it is best to first consult with one of the competent New Jersey SSDI eligibility lawyers. Please contact us at The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur today.
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]]>The post What Are Signs of an Emotional Disability? appeared first on The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur.
]]>The concerns you may have in how you carry yourself day-to-day may be attached to your having an emotional disability. Without further ado, below are common signs and symptoms that you should look out for:
It is also worth mentioning that the SSA recognizes eight other categories of emotional disability, which are namely intellectual disorders; anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders; somatic symptom and related disorders; personality and impulse-control disorders; autism spectrum disorder; neurodevelopment disorders; eating disorders; and trauma- and stressor-related disorders. Evidently, these disorders come with their own subsets of signs and symptoms, which may be accessed on the SSA’s website.
You may seek SSDI benefits so that you may receive aid for the everyday living expenses, medical bills, and other financial obligations that come with your emotional disability diagnosis. Well, to qualify for these benefits by the SSA’s standards, you must prove that your disorder is so debilitating that it is inhibiting you from obtaining and maintaining gainful employment activity. Additional points that you must make read as follows:
Without a doubt, the next step that you should take is to employ a skilled New Jersey SSDI eligibility lawyer. So please reach out to us at The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur immediately.
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]]>The post What Factors May Affect the Value of My SSDI Benefits? appeared first on The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur.
]]>Contrary to what you may initially assume, your monthly SSDI benefits payments are not based on the severity of your disability. Rather, the SSA calculates how much you should initially receive by reviewing your lifetime average earnings before you had incurred your disability.
On average, this calculation results in payments of $800 to $1,800 per month; the maximum is $3,627 per month. In the state of New Jersey, the average was $1,505.33 per month in 2023. It is also worth mentioning that the SSA considers the cost of living adjustment (COLA) when calculating your monthly payments. So in 2024, you may see a 3.2 percent increase in your monthly payments.
It is nothing less than positive news if your health or other factors in your life improve. But with this comes the possibility that your SSDI benefits payments may decrease or altogether discontinue. Without further ado, any of the following personal changes may affect the value of your monthly SSDI benefits payments:
If nothing else, you must promptly notify the SSA of any of the aforementioned personal changes. This is because the SSA conducts a Continuing Disability Review anywhere from six months to seven years from the date your disability decision was made, dependent on the likelihood of your health condition improving. If this review unearths that you have been overpaid for months or years, the SSA may send you a notice requesting a repayment or withhold the full amount of benefits each month.
To ensure your fair compensation, you must turn to a skilled New Jersey SSDI benefits lawyer. So please contact us at The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur whenever you get a chance.
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]]>The post How Can I Improve My Chances of Receiving SSDI Benefits? appeared first on The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur.
]]>To avoid having to undergo the appeals process, and to overall avoid an outright denial of your SSDI benefits claim, it may be in your best interest to follow the below tips:
Of note, after you file your SSDI benefits claim, it may take anywhere from three to five months to get a response from the SSA. What’s more, if the SSA’s response is to deny your initial claim, then it may take anywhere from a few months to a couple of years to undergo the appeals process. Understandably so, you may require immediate financial aid and thereby do not have the luxury of time to wait for approval. Rest assured, there may be strategies in which you may expedite a decision on your SSDI benefits claim. They read as follows:
In conclusion, you require the services of a skilled New Jersey SSDI attorney when filling out your benefits claim. So please schedule your free initial consultation with us at The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur today.
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