I'm told I can't hire a SS Disability atty since I'm in a Ch 13

[lookin4info]

I have contacted a couple of atty's to assist with filing for SS Disability. They both claim they don't get paid unless you win, however, because I was in a Ch 13, they could not take my case. I was just wondering why? Is this their rule or a Ch. 13 rule. Is it because it would be considered debt, even though technically, I wouldn't owe them anything until I won and then they would then be paid their % of any lump sum that would be paid. I know that I would have to advise the trustee of any lump sum I would receive.

If that is the case, can you pay as you go or something? (no money to do that, but just wondered if that was an option.)

[justbroke]

If you're in an active Chapter 13, you may be prohibited from incurring debt. The fact that the attorneys are saying that if you don't win your disability case, you will incur debt. That is considered new debt. Trustees in Chapter 13s try to insure that the debtor will make it through their plan. The best way is to limit or prohibit the debtor from incurring new debt.

It would be up to the attorney to take payments. The real issue though is whether you can afford the fees. Disability cases can take a long time right now... sometimes almost 2 years.

Perhaps start talking to a few more attorneys.

[lookin4info]

Both of the atty's I spoke to advertise that "they don't get paid unless you win". (Of course they don't take a case unless they are pretty darn sure they are going to win!) That's why I assume that I wouldn't be owing them anything unless I won and received payment.

[despritfreya]

1. There is nothing stopping you from hiring an attny to prosecute your SS claim.

2. Any attny you hire MUST be approved by the bk court. This is not a big deal and, unless there is some conflict of interest between the attny and you, Applications to Appoint are routinely approved.

3. The attnys you have spoken to simply may not know that either 1) their representation must be sanctioned by the bk court and/or 2) you have the absolute right to prosecute your attempts to secure an asset that may help benefit the estate.

4. The attnys you have spoken to, if they do understand the procedure of approval, may not want to get involved as their fees must also be approved by the court. This issue, however, is a non-issue as the bk court will approve fees that are typical for such representation.

5. The attnys you have spoke to, if they do understand the procedure, may not want to get involved in drafting the Application to Appoint, filing it and then seeking approval of the fees. These are matters your bk attny (if you have one) can address.

My Firm routinely hires "special counsel" and we draft and file all of the necessary documents to do so, thus leaving special counsel to handle the matters he/she was hired to do.

Des.

[justbroke]

Perhaps getting a recommendation through your Bankruptcy attorney is the way to go. They will know the process for potentially incurring debt and hiring counsel. As I stated, this process can take some time, so the quicker you start it, the better you'll be.

Thank you Des for explaining the process so well.

[AJA]

First: Go here http://www.ssa.gov/dibplan/index.htm fill out your claim online. When I spoke with my lawyer he wisely told me to apply first and he would handle my appeal if I was denied. I was awarded and will start collecting soon. If you have CHF this is a good site for ss benefits. http://www.chfpatients.com/ssd.htm SS regulates how attorneys are paid. How much and by whom. Don't hire anyone until you apply yourself.

[lookin4info]

Thanks for all the great information, I will check with my atty for the proper way to proceed. His firm may even handle disability claims. I've seen them advertise and they handle just about everything!

I will also go ahead and apply on my own first. I was going to do that, but one of the atty's would fill out all the paperwork and file, their fee would be 25% of any retro pay I would receive. If my retro pay was going to go back to the time I first applied and received a denial, I figured he might as well do it all if he was going to collect that 25% on the work I already did. I may not understand how all that works, so I could be wrong in my thinking. Great info on here. I didn't even think about get the approval through the trustee.

[AJA]

Retro SS is paid from 6 months after you file if your claim is denied and later approved on appeal. RE: You apply today 2/24. You are denied. You appeal and are successful on 11/24 The retro clock started ticking on 8/24 You are entitled to 3 months retro SS and your attorney gets paid a % of that. There are limits to what He can get and they are set by SS.

[BNKRPTinNC]

We are currently in our 4th year on our 13. Wife initially filed for SS Disability over a year ago. Was turned down first time so spoke with a firm and was told to re-submit and would become pro-active if denied. Once again turned down and currently in some new process where the claim is submitted to attys for decision that can take between 30-60 days, which will end at the end of March. After the second appeal was turned down we were told that we would go before a judge for a hearing but this new process has been implemented so hopefully it will be settled quicker. As for how the 13 is affected we were told by atty handling the SS case that it had none. We are in the middle district of NC and not sure whether or not that has any bearing but wouldn't be surprised if it does. Will find out more when everything is decided but from what I understand that it is completely separate from our 13. As the wife has not worked in over a year our income has not been what it was when we started the 13 in 2008 on which our payment was based. Didn't want to modify our plan as we are able to keep up, barely. Even with a lump sum payment and a monthly check it still would not put us back to what we were making per year at the start.

As far as retro payment is concerned it is our understanding that it is based upon the date of the initial filing and atty will get 25% when it is settled and nothing if denied. As was posted above, the firm would not take your case unless they felt it was a winner, no money in it.

Will keep you informed as to the outcome and what impact it will have on our 13.

[BNKRPTinNC]

Update

Retro SS is paid from 6 months after you file if your claim is denied and later approved on appeal. RE: You apply today 2/24. You are denied. You appeal and are successful on 11/24 The retro clock started ticking on 8/24 You are entitled to 3 months retro SS and your attorney gets paid a % of that. There are limits to what He can get and they are set by SS.

Wife had a favorable decision on her SS Disability case. As AJA pointed out the benefits for retroactive payment begins at the 6 month mark from the time that you were considered disabled. In other words, one had to be considered disabled for 5 months before payment would start. In wifes case: determined eligible for disability in Jan 2011, retro payment based on June 2011 thru Feb 2012. Also, was informed by atty handling case that the payment had nothing to do with our 13. They handle both so I am going to assume they know what's what here in this state and put the back pay away for a rainy day. As I stated before, the amount that she received, in addition to the monthly payment for the next 9 months, plus the money I make falls about $10k short of what we were making when we initially filed our 13.

[AJA]

Congrats on her award. Hope everything works out for you going foward.