Thread watched SSI Benefit Owe $4000 Decision and Advice

Jurisdiction
Florida
I am trying to make sense of what I can do and if a someone can help me with this matter. My wife became ill about 10 years ago and when she got to the point where she could not longer work, we decided to apply for Social Security. She has multiple debilitating conditions which have gotten worst. She has been diagnosed with Fibromialgia, Disc Degenerative disease, Short term memory, Hypoglycemic, Arthritis, Hemophilia and I don't remember the rest. She has been very ill since her early 30's. Recently she cannot walk for long period of time, because she gets muscle fatigue. She was using a walker and now has a foldable motorized wheel chair.


When it all started and she was ill, but not as severe as now.... After submitting the original Social security claim... we were denied. We decided to go to a lawyer to work on it for us. The lawyer explained to us that we had two choice after looking at her case. He explained she was short on work credit to qualify for social security. He mentioned that they could go to court and try to proof that her illness started before a certain date, but that it would be difficult depending on the type of judge she would get assigned. He said that if they got a judge that was difficult and the case gets denied, she would not get Social Security or SSI. He said we had the choice of applying for SSI and we should get approved quickly.


We thought about it and the idea of not getting a more lenient judge and being denied both SSI and SSID was scary. So we decided to go with the SSI. Its been a nightmare since then. We have been getting reviews about every 2-5 years. The first couple of reviews were in short period of time, until I guess they finally figured out that her condition was not one that has a cure or that it would get better. After that, the reviews happened more far apart.


Two years ago I got a letter that said that I failed to report income and they said I owed $1,800. I explained in the interview that I am self employed and my income changed from month to month and that I thought that they basically would use my tax return to calculate my monthly income. I assumed that they were correct and did not dispute the charge. In my recent interview I was asked if I was paying rent and I told them that about 2 years ago I stopped paying rent. The house belongs to my father in law and he has been paying it. My financial situation has not permitted me to pay rent. My yearly income is between $12,000-$15,000 yearly and we are getting food stamps.


I don't know how they are expecting for me to pay all the utilities, car insurance, gas money, I pay the property tax $1,600 per year and home insurance $1,000 year, household supplies, pay for food (food stamp is not enough for the whole month) and what ever other expense comes my way. Yes my father in law pays the mortgage, but I pay for the house upkeep, repairs, just put a new air conditioning unit, deductible for the roof repair and all the maintenance the house requires.


I did not mention I stopped paying rent and told Social security on my last interview. Now they are charging me $2,300 on top of the $1,800. Now my wife SSI is down from $700 per month to $220. They are deducting about $80 from the SSI to payoff the money owed. I am trying to figure out, How can someone making less than $15,000 yearly can get so little of SSI? Can my wife get permanent Social Security? I don't understand the whole work credit thing and she has not work since then for obvious reasons. Social security doesn't know I pay for the Property tax, home insurance and I cover all the house expenses. They only know that I no longer paying rent. Any legal advice would be greatly appreciated it. It is very difficult to get a full time job, when my wife depends on me constantly on a daily basis. Right now dealing with a son that just recently has been diagnose with Schizophrenia, my wife is very ill and a daughter depends also on me. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I don't have money on my bank accounts, I own a very old minivan 2003 Caravan that's not even worth $2,000 and I am in credit card debt to cover all the extra expenses. I recently applied for a work from home job at my brothers company and I did not get it. Its not like I am making a lot of money and demanding social security and food stamps. I am dealing with an ill wife and now a sick son and responsible for my daughter.
 
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We decided to go to a lawyer to work on it for us.

Your predicament appears too complex for you to address it without the assistance of an attorney skilled in dealing with social security and their bureaucracy.

In addition to retaining an attorney to assist in ameliorating your dilemma, you have THREE additional options.

You can write a letter to one of your US senators asking for assistance for your spouse.

You can write another letter to your US congressperson asking for assistance for your spouse.

You can also write a letter to one of the president asking for assistance for your spouse.

The above three letters will cost you nothing but your time.

Some people report great success after writing a letter to one (or more) of their elected officials.

There are also agencies that assist people who are having financial difficulties.

Two of those agencies are the Red Cross and the Salvation Army.

In some cases there are local houses of worship who assist people when their finances are challenged.

Your state welfare or family services agency might also be helpful to your family.

You can also seek assistance by contacting one of the social workers employed by large hospitals where your spouse receives treatment.

In fact, your spouse can ask one of her attending physicians about contacting one the social workers skilled in helping people mired in situations similar to yours.

Last, but not least, you and your spouse (assuming she is able to do so) should make an appointment to meet within a counselor/intake worker at your local social security office.

Because of the current medical issues our country is enduring, the appointment might take a long time to receive, or may end up being a phone call.

Nonetheless, try to get one anyway, and SS might just be able to help you sort of the issues that are plaguing your family.

Whatever you do, don't decide to wait and see.

You must do something.

You must be proactive, or things could get worse.

I pray your wife will one day recover to full health, in the meantime, I pray she will continue to receive proper medical care.

You can use any search engine and ferret out many more in your county.

Your situation is far too complex to sort out without some one in your corner.
 
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