How To Get Social Security Disability For My Child

How Long Will Your Child Receive Benefits

Social Security FAQ: Does My Child Qualify for SSI Benefits?

Generally, children will receive dependent SSDI benefits until they reach the age of 18 years old. The benefit will end the month before their 18th birthday.

If your child is a full-time student, the benefit will end when they graduate from or leave secondary school or two months after they turn 19, whichever happens first.

If your child is disabled, and became disabled before the age of 22, his or her monthly dependent benefit will continue indefinitely.

How A Single Mother With A 9th Gradeeducation Followed My Advice To Winssi Benefits For Her 10 Year Old Daughterand How You Can Get Your Handson This Insider Information

If you have ever tried to win SSI benefits for your child with disabilities, you know what a hassle youre in for. The average child SSI case takes close to 3 years start to finish. SSI demands that you fill out dozens of pages of confusing forms. Even worse, they send out page after page of complicated evaluation forms and questionnaire forms to your childs friends, relatives and teachers.

Are My Adult Children Eligible For Benefits

If your child is 18 or older and not a student, your child can get what Social Security calls adult child benefits. The following criteria must be met for adult child benefits.

Your child’s disability must have begun before the age of 22, and
Your child must meet the SSA’s adult definition of disabled.

To be disabled under the SSA’s guidelines, your adult child’s condition must prevent him from doing a substantial about of work for at least 12 months , just like any other adult.

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Ssi Benefits For Disabled Children

SSI is available to children who meet the disability requirements of the Social Security Administration but have little income or resources. Part of the parents’ income is attributed to the child in determining whether the child is financially eligible for SSI.

After turning 18, the disabled child will need to qualify for SSI as an adult that is, he or she will have to fit the adult definition of disability. The family’s income will no longer be considered as part of the eligibility determination for SSI, although if the child still receives food and shelter from the parents, the Social Security Administration may lower the child’s disability payment.

For more information, read our article on SSI disability for children.

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I Receive Sociality Security Disability Benefits Is My Child Also Eligible

If you are receiving SSDI benefits, then any child of yours under age 18 or any child attending high school and under age 22 may be entitled to a benefit equal to half of your disability benefit amount.

The child may be your biological child, your adopted child or your stepchild. A dependent grandchild also may qualify.

Your child also may be entitled to be paid benefits as a survivor if one of the parents is deceased.

My Childs Application For Disability Benefits Was Denied What Should I Do Now

If the SSA has denied your child benefits, then you should talk with a knowledgeable disability benefits attorney. If you live in North Carolina, the disability attorneys at Hardison & Cochran are available to answer your questions and offer guidance about appealing the decision.

Sometimes a benefits application is delayed or denied because it lacks adequate medical documentation of a childs disability. An experienced disability benefits attorney will know what documents and medical evidence should be included and can make sure the correct information is submitted.

Obtaining disability benefits for a child can be challenging.

Our dedicated attorneys have helped many people whose disability applications were initially denied obtain the full benefits available by law. We will discuss the best steps to take regarding your claim denial and work hard to get your child SSD or child SSI benefits, depending on your childs eligibility.

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Does My Child’s Cancer Qualify For Disability Benefits

Despite the seriousness of a cancer diagnosis, your child still must meet Social Security’s basic disability requirements in order to qualify for benefits. Most importantly, your child must either have been disabled for the past 12 months .

This issue can be problematic in cases of childhood cancer where treatment was early and effective. However, if your child’s treatment was lengthy and involved or caused long-lasting side effects, you can most likely convince Social Security that the disability lasted or can be expected to last a year or more. It is tremendously important in cases of childhood cancer to provide evidence that covers a span of time to show the lasting effects of the cancer or the treatment.

If the impact of the cancer treatment is yet unknown, Social Security may have to delay making a decision on the case.

It’s Time To Get The Benefits You Deserve

Parent and Child Care can Affect Your Social Security Disability Claim

Suze Orman shares how to get disability benefits in less timeâwith no out-of-pocket costs

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What We Will Ask You

If the worker is deceased, we will also ask you:

The worker’s date of birth and his or her name at birth
The worker’s date of death and the place of death
The State or foreign country of the worker’s fixed permanent residence at the time of death
Whether the worker was unable to work because of illnesses, injuries or conditions at any time during the 14 months before his or her death.
Whether the worker was in the active military service before 1968 or ever worked for the railroad industry.
Whether the worker earned Social Security credits under another country’s Social Security system
Whether the worker was employed or self-employed in all years from 1978 through last year
How much the worker earned in the year of death and the year before death
Whether the worker ever filed for Social Security benefits, Medicare or Supplemental Security Income. and
Whether each child was living with the worker at the time of death.

Depending on the information you provide, we may need to ask other questions.

Note

You also should have with you your checkbook or other papers that show your account number at a bank, credit union or other financial institution so you can sign up for Direct Deposit, and avoid worries about lost or stolen checks and mail delays.

Benefits For Your Spouse

Benefits are payable to your spouse:

Age 62 or older, unless your spouse collects a higher Social Security benefit based on their earnings record. The benefit amount for your spouse is permanently reduced by a percentage, based on the number of months up to their full retirement age.
At any age if they are caring for your child under age 16 or who was disabled before age 22, and is entitled to benefits.

Is My Disabled Child Eligible For Ssi Benefits

To qualify for SSI benefits, a child must be blind or disabled based on the following definitions:

Blindness: The child must have vision of 20/200 or less in the better eye when a corrective lens is worn or visual field limitation in the better eye no more than 20 degrees at the widest point.
Disability: The child must be under 18 with a medically verifiable physical or mental impairment that causes severe functional limitations expected to result in death or that have lastedor are expected to lastfor 12 or more continuous months.

Once the child reaches age 18, the definition for disability is extended to require that their disability prevents them from participating in substantial gainful activity .

Got Questions Get Answers

How Do I Get Disability Benefits for my Child?

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Question

Can you envision any scenario where it makes sense to delay starting Social Security when you are at the maximum benefit and expect to also claim the spousal benefit for a non-working spouse? Yes, the survivor benefit could be higher but the loss of 150% of the FRA payments for the deferral period, with interest, would more than compensate for that, unless Im missing something. Born in 1954, spouse in 1953.

Benefits For Disabled Widows Or Widowers

If something happens to a worker, benefits may be payable to their widow, widower, or surviving divorced spouse with a disability if the following conditions are met:

The widow, widower, or surviving divorced spouse is between ages 50 and 60.
The widow, widower, or surviving divorced spouse has a medical condition that meets the definition of disability for adults and the disability started before or within seven years of the worker’s death.

Widows, widowers, and surviving divorced spouses cannot apply online for survivors benefits. However, if they want to apply for these benefits, they should contact Social Security immediately at 1-800-772-1213 to request an appointment

To speed up the application process, complete an Adult Disability Report and have it available at the time of your appointment.

We use the same definition of disability for widows and widowers as we do for workers.

Filing For Disability Benefits

A disabled adult child seeking SSDI benefits under a parent’s work record cannot file for benefits online. However, it will save time if you start the process by filling out the Adult Disability Report before you contact the SSA . Next, contact the SSA at 772-1213 for an appointment at your local SSA office.

When you apply for SSDI, your paperwork will be forwarded to the Disability Determination Services in the state where you reside. That is the agency that will make the decision on the disability. A claims examiner and medical consultant will together decide if the disabled adult child has a disability that matches or is equivalent to one on the SSA’s official Listing of Impairments, or if not, if the disability prevents the adult child from doing work. To determine if the disabled adult child can perform a job, the DDS will look at his or her skill and educational level, including any vocational training the adult child may have received in school. A child who has received vocational training may not be eligible for benefits if they have a skill that could provide them with substantial gainful employment and they can perform a job that uses that skill. It is important in these cases to keep accurate school and medical records involving any evaluation of the adult child’s skills by teachers and other professionals.

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Qualifications For Children To Receive Ssdi Dependent Benefits

To receive dependent benefits, children must meet particular criteria, including:

Being a biological, adopted, or dependent stepchild of an adult receiving SSDI
Being unmarried
Being under 18, or still enrolled in high school and under age 19
Having a valid birth certificate and Social Security number
Grandchildren

Grandparents raising grandchildren or step-grandchildren may also qualify these children for dependent benefits in certain circumstances. This includes:

If their parents passed away or
If their parents suffer from a qualifying disability that prevents them from working or
You provide regular support for the child, usually at least half of their financial support or
The grandchildren lived with you at least a year before you became entitled to SSDI benefits.

Often grandparents will adopt grandchildren under these circumstances or will receive legal custody through Pennsylvania courts. If this occurs, the rules for children of SSDI recipients would apply. If you have legal custody of your grandchildren, the Social Security Administration will evaluate their qualifications for dependent benefits as if they were your biological children.

For a free legal consultation, call

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The Seven Secrets Revealed

The Insiders Report email explains the checklist that SSI claims adjustors use when deciding child cases. If you have not yet requested this report, you can get it by scrolling to the top of this web page and clicking on my picture.

If your child is truly disabled, my child SSI Disability Answer Guide will help you build a solid case, whether or not you use a lawyer and give you a real opportunity to win a favorable decision early.

Does Your Child Qualify For Benefits Based On Your Disability Benefit

If you worked a sufficient amount of time before you became disabled, you could receive a monthly Social Security Disability Insurance check based on the amount of time you worked and how much money you paid into the Social Security system. Your dependents can also get a monthly benefit when you start receiving SSDI.

If you don’t have enough work history to qualify for SSDI, or you worked at a job that didn’t pay into Social Security, you could receive benefits based on need, from Supplemental Security Income . However, only SSDI provides dependents benefits to your children. SSI provides no benefit to anyone but the disabled individual, though disabled children can receive disability benefits under SSI.

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Take These Papers With You To The Social Security Office

Your childs Social Security card
Your childs birth certificate
Your latest pay stub
Proof of where you live, such as a utility bill, mortgage payment or lease
The report from your doctor that says your child has a disability
Citizenship or immigration papers if required
Names, addresses and phone numbers of all of the doctors, hospitals and therapists who have seen your child in the last year
A list of any medicine your child takes
The names, addresses and phone numbers of your childs schools and teachers
The names, addresses and phone numbers of your childs caseworkers
Your childs Individualized Education Plan or Individual Family Service Plan
Names and Social Security numbers of everyone in your house

Note: KEEP YOUR APPOINTMENT even if you dont have all the papers. The Social Security Office can help you get the papers. For birth certificates, call the county where your child was born to order a copy.

To find a Social Security Office near you, go to the Social Security Office Locator website or call 1-800-772-1213.

What Ssa Claims Representatives Need In Order To Approve Your Claim

Can My Child Get Social Security Disability Benefits ...

None of these forms have any instructions about how to fill them out, and, until now, you would have no way to find out what SSI was really looking for.

SSI claims representatives are looking for magic words information that will result in a favorable decision
Unless you are an SSI employee or other insider, youll never discover the secrets of winning your case
Your case will be denied automatically if your Child SSI claim form is filled out incorrectly
Every year, thousands of deserving child SSI claims are denied because there were mistakes with the claim paperwork
Most child SSI claims are denied two, three, four or more times before being approved

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If My Child Commits A Felony Is He Ineligible For Benefits

While being in jail will prevent someone from collecting benefits, committing a felony doesn’t affect eligibility, with one exception. A child who is otherwise eligible for benefits is ineligible if that child, either as a juvenile or an adult, was found by a court of law to have intentionally caused the death of the parent on whose earnings record the benefits were based.

To learn more, see Nolo’s article on disability benefits for adult children.

Disabled Adults Who Don’t Have Enough Work Credits Can Sometimes Use Their Parents Work Credits To Qualify For Ssdi Benefits

By Bethany K. Laurence, Attorney

If you are a disabled adult child or if you have a disabled adult child, the child may be eligible for Social Security disability payments. It is important to understand what the qualification requirements are and how to apply for these benefits so you can ensure that your child or loved one gets the benefits needed for proper care.

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