i won my disability case, how does my lawyer get paid

If you win your Social Security disability claim, your attorney gets paid a portion of your winnings (your retroactive, past-due benefits). So, you are not paying any money upfront for the work the attorney will do on the case. In fact, the Social Security Administration (SSA) handles paying the lawyer for you after your benefit claim is awarded.

Full Answer

When should you hire a disability lawyer?

What Do They Do?

• Experienced Attorneys Understand the Medical Evidence Needed to Win. The single most important factor to winning a claim is having the right medical evidence. ...
• They Are Skilled at Communicating With Medical Providers. ...
• Attorneys Are Experts at the Hearing Process. ...
• Experts Know the Arguments Most Likely to Win a Case. ...

Should you hire a disability lawyer?

Unless your case is very clear cut and the evidence points strongly to your disability, you might be better off hiring an attorney. And if you don't want to wait upwards of two years for a hearing date, you might try to hire an attorney for help with the initial application.

When should I contact a disability lawyer?

• Answer your questions and address your concerns regarding your case;
• Assist you with completing and filing the initial disability claim application;
• Develop the best theory of disability and advocate your disability case;
• Help you get medical records or other important information to support your claim;

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When should I hire a Social Security disability lawyer?

• Trying to expedite your case if your condition is terminal or you are suffering from extreme financial hardship
• Communicate with your medical providers
• Assist with gathering the required medical paperwork for your claim
• Representing your case in the strongest way at any appeal hearings

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What is the most a disability lawyer can charge?

$6,000First, the basics: Federal law generally limits the fees charged by Social Security disability attorneys to 25% of your backpay, or $6,000, whichever is lower. Back payments are benefits that accrued while you were waiting for Social Security to approve your case.

How far does SSI back pay go?

Retroactive benefits might go back to the date you first suffered a disability—or up to a year before the day you applied for benefits. For SSI, back pay goes back to the date of your original application for benefits.

How does SSDI calculate back pay?

Calculating SSDI Back Payments Count the months between your EOD and application date to determine retroactive months. The number of months between the EOD and approval date, minus the five-month waiting period, plus the retroactive months, times your monthly payment equals the total amount of back pay due.

Do I have to spend my SSDI back pay?

If the SSDI beneficiary is only receiving SSDI benefits, (and not SSI), the SSDI beneficiary does not have to “spend down” this Retroactive payment because there are no resource limits for SSDI benefits; therefore, Retroactive payments will not affect ongoing SSDI eligibility.

What happens after a fully favorable disability decision?

If you receive a fully favorable decision, the SSA approved your application with the onset date of disability that you originally noted. You will then start receiving disability benefits as soon as your elimination period or waiting period has ended.

Is SSDI back pay one lump sum?

SSDI backpay is always paid as a single lump sum. How much backpay you'll receive depends on your disability onset date, your application date, and the date you were approved for benefits. In addition to your backpay, you'll also be entitled to monthly SSDI payments.

How long does it take to get your first SSDI check?

Generally, if your application for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is approved, you must wait five months before you can receive your first SSDI benefit payment. This means you would receive your first payment in the sixth full month after the date we find that your disability began.

How far back can retroactive SSDI payments go?

12 monthsThe SSDI allows retroactive payments for a maximum of 12 months prior to the date of application, subtracting the waiting period. That means that a minimum of 17 months that will have passed since the date of onset (EOD) and the date the application is approved.

What can I spend my SSDI money on?

Answer: After paying for the disabled person's food, shelter, clothing, medical and dental costs, and any rehab expenses, the representative payee can spend disability benefit money on personal comfort items and recreation costs (such as outings, movie tickets, or magazine subscriptions).

Can I buy a car with SSI back pay?

Yes, you can use your SSI backpay for a car, but only if you meet certain conditions. First of all, it's important to know that if you are a recipient of Supplementary Security Income or SSI, then you are only permitted to own one car for the entire period that you are being given financial assistance.

Does SSDI look at your bank account?

On the other hand, if you receive disability benefits through the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program, the SSA won't check your bank account. Individuals qualify for SSDI based on their work history. Claimants who receive SSDI or SSI will be subject to ongoing eligibility reviews.

Does SSI track your spending?

A special note about SSI payments We don't count all resources. However, some items you buy could cause the recipient to lose their SSI payments. Any money you don't spend could also count as a resource.

Contingency Fee Agreement

When you first hire a disability attorney or advocate, whether you are filing for SSDI or SSI, you must sign a fee agreement that allows the SSA to...

How Much Is The Attorney's fee?

For Social Security disability lawyers, the fee is limited to 25% of the past-due benefits you are awarded, up to a maximum of $6,000. Note that th...

How Disability Backpay Is Calculated

Once you are approved for benefits, the SSA will calculate the amount of backpay you are owed. For SSDI, your backpay will include retroactive bene...

Finding A Disability Lawyer

Read our article on how to find a good disability lawyer (and how to screen a lawyer before you hire one), or go straight to our local disability a...

How Contingency Fees Work

First, sitting down for a consultation with a disability lawyer is free. You have nothing to lose by calling a law firm and getting their opinion about your case. If you decide to hire a lawyer – and they agree to take your case – you will need to sign a contingency fee agreement.

Discuss Your Case with a Disability Attorney

Because it generally does not cost anything to speak with or hire a disability lawyer, it is always worth it to schedule a free consultation. Once you are working with a lawyer, their payment will depend on how much past-due benefits you are awarded.

How much can a lawyer take from past due benefits?

Your lawyer is legally bound not to require any more than 25 percent of the past-due benefits you are owed. In fact, they cannot legally take more than $6,000, no matter how much you are owed in past-due benefits.

What happens if you don't meet the requirements for a disability?

If you do meet these requirements, your application will move to the next step in the process and will be reviewed by a disability examiner. They will look at the medical evidence in your case to determine if it should be approved or denied.

Does it cost to hire a disability attorney?

Under nearly all circumstances, it does not cost anything upfront to hire a Social Security Disability attorney. Their fee will come out of your award, if and when you receive it. The SSA will pay them directly, and you will not be hassled with turning the money over to them.

Do attorneys charge out of pocket?

Other Costs. Be aware that most attorneys will ask you to pay a nominal charge for their out-of-pocket costs when you begin your case. These are separate from attorney fees and cover the costs of filing your application and other miscellaneous expenses such as charges for obtaining medical and work records.

Does Social Security pay an attorney?

This agreement allows the Social Security Administration (SSA) to directly pay your attorney if your claim is approved. The SSA reviews the contract before sending money to ensure that it meets the fee agreement guidelines and that your attorney only receives what they are entitled to receive.

Do SSD attorneys get paid?

Unlike other types of attorneys, such as those who handle family or estate law, SSD attorneys usually only get paid if you win your SSD case. When you hire an SSD lawyer to represent your claim, you will be required to sign an agreement regarding how they will get paid.

What does a disability attorney do?

During the course of representation, a disability attorney or nonlawyer advocate usually has to request a claimant's medical, school, work records, and occasionally medical or psychological examinations; these can be expensive. The client must pay these costs separately from the attorney's fee (of 25% of their backpay).

Do disability attorneys get paid?

Social Security Disability attorneys and advocates work "on contingency," meaning they get paid only if you win your case. Unlike many attorneys, disability lawyers do not charge up-front fees or require a retainer to work on a Social Security disability case. Most disability attorneys and nonlawyer representatives will be paid a fee only ...

Who is the disability representative?

Usually, though, disability representatives are either attorneys, or non-attorney representatives who are often former employees of the social security administration. Attorneys and non-attorney representatives charge ...

Do Social Security representatives charge fees?

Luckily, Social Security representatives do not charge their fees up front; instead there is a binding agreement between the representative and their client that stipulates what the representative can charge as a fee in the event that a disability case has been won (in other words, if the case is not won, there is no fee).

Does Social Security deduct disability fees?

First, a direct answer to the question: if you are represented and your case is won, in all likelihood, Social Security will deduct whatever fee is owed to your disability attorney or disability representative out of the back pay amount that you are owed. Now, a bit of discussion regarding fees themselves.

How much can a disability lawyer charge?

Under current Social Security Disability regulations, a disability lawyer is generally only allowed to charge 25% of a claimant’s back pay up to $6,000. In fact, prior to receiving payment, the SSA must approve the fee agreement, which allows the SSA to send a portion of your back pay directly to the lawyer before you are paid.

What are expenses in a lawyer?

Specifically, the cost of requesting medical records, paying for a vocation expert, telephone calls, travel costs, or fees to see a medical doctor or obtain a statement from them.

Can a disability lawyer charge additional fees?

There may be several reasons. To find out for sure you need to review your fee agreement. In some cases, claimants have signed a two-tier agreement, which is still a contingency fee agreement, but allows the disability lawyer to charge additional fees for expenses.

What can a disability lawyer do?

Although disability lawyers work on a contingency fee basis and are only paid if you win, if you think you can win without a lawyer it would be a waste of money to hire one. The main consideration is whether or not you can effectively perform the tasks that disability lawyers generally do and win your case on your own.

Limitations of the disability lawyer

Whether or not you win your SSDI or SSI case can be based on many factors, many of which are not under the control of the disability lawyer. The disability lawyer cannot, therefore, guarantee any type of outcome.

In conclusion

Considering whether or not you will get an automatic approval by hiring a SSDI or SSI lawyer should be only one consideration before determining whether or not to hire one.

What happens if you don't get back pay?

Basically, if there was no back pay, you do not owe a fee. Obviously, a person will not owe back pay when they have not won their case. But there are cases in which ongoing benefits are won but there is still no back pay.

Can a disability attorney be paid if there is no back pay?

A disability attorney or non-at torney rep cannot be paid a fee if there is no back pay. This is specifically because of the way that they are paid, which is strictly regulated by the Social Security Administration.