So, again, there are numerous advocacy services as well- these are not friends or family or lawyers, who often are either free or very low cost, that will assist one in being methodical and thorough... I don't assume that everyone has friends or family to assist them through the process.
I didn't do it on my own, as i mentioned, and i hardly expect anyone to be able to. I also suspect it is more common a case to be without many- or any- friends or family that would be willing to help one through the entire process. Unfourtunately mental illness has a way of alientating a person from those around them.
That is why i specifically mentioned exploring advocacy services, many of which are not well advertised, unfourtunately... which you failed to address when you responded to me.
BTW- I have a lot of difficulty doing my taxes myself as well, I usually find a free service to do it.
You did seem to take just what you wanted from my response, which I did in fact suggest.
Done now
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rose76
I'm working on my taxes today, which I have almost always done by myself, since I was 16 years old. I am amazed at how many people are overwhelmed at the thought of doing their own taxes, even if they are eligible for using the 1040EZ form. If you don't own property and you don't have a bunch of deductions to itemize AND you still feel you need to have a trained person do your taxes for you, then you are going to be a lot more overwhelmed, if you try to file for SSDI/SSI on your own.
Some people - a lot - don't have the capacity to be as methodical and thorough, as the process requires. If you have friends or loved ones who are willing to take on doing the task, or even part of it, on your behalf, then you must have been extraordinarily blessed in the friend/family department because getting through this is one aggravating ordeal.
The most it can cost you, if you get a lawyer, is about $6000. For most people, that is about 3 to 6 months worth of benefits. It is nothing to sneeze at, but it is not a fortune, either. If your claim gets quickly approved, as mine did, then the lawyer gets nothing (zilch) because there are no back benefits. If your claim is not going to get approved quickly, there is a good chance you are going to need a lawyer anyway. Statistically, you have a better chance with a lawyer than without.
It is simply not true that reputable, ethical attorneys do not take on clients, until they have been denied once and need to make a further attempt at getting a claim approved. Some attorneys choose not to, but their reason is that they want to avoid cases like mine that get quickly approved leaving them with no back benefits to get a percentage of.
I desperately wanted my claim to be approved the first time it got presented. That's because I had no income and was facing possible homelessness, if I didn't get SSDI real soon. That was my main reason for getting legal assistance. I did extensive research at the bookstore, library and on-line. Even still, I would not have been so well-organized, if I hadn't gotten the help of a law firm. It is good to actively participate in getting the paperwork completed. My law firm had a website with a client portal. I could go on there and see what the clerks were in the middle of doing. I found, for instance, that they had incorrectly taken down the addresses of some of my doctors. I called them and got that corrected. I checked their work, and I would call to tell them what I was doing and have them check mine. I recommend that approach.
One lawyer's video that I watched advised that having a supportive doctor can be as important, if not more so, than having a good lawyer. That really is true. But that does not mean the doctor is going to do a whole lot for you. Still, a letter from a supportive doctor can be worth its weight in gold.
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