Early-onset Alzheimer’s appears often in a person’s 40s or 50s.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) reports that 5% to 10% of Alzheimer’s disease cases are diagnosed in people under the age of 65. It hits long before retirement age, and many people diagnosed with this form of Alzheimer’s disease end up panicking. Not only are they diagnosed with a frightening medical condition, but they also still need to work. They still have a mortgage, but their cognitive decline ends their ability to work. What happens now? Is it time to contact an SSDI Attorney?
Understanding the Compassionate Allowances
The SSA maintains a list of chronic health conditions that qualify as disabilities under Compassionate Allowances. These debilitating medical issues meet the criteria needed to apply for expedited Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).
Early-onset Alzheimer’s is one of the qualifying medical conditions, and that helps your mom get SSDI benefits through a faster application process. Make sure she mentions her condition when she calls an SSDI attorney. It’s important to bring it up as early as possible.
What Happens When She Applies for SSDI?
When your mom calls or completes an online SSDI application, an in-person or phone interview is going to be scheduled. She needs to be prepared to present this information:
- Bank account information
- Contact information, including an emergency contact
- Current medications
- Height and weight
- Medical records and physician contacts
- Names of dependents and spouse
- Work history
The SSA will go over her information and medical condition. If the application is approved, she starts getting a monthly benefit check. The money may not be as much as she was earning, and this is important to know. As of June 2019, the average benefit was $1,100.
As long as your mom has worked long enough and paid Social Security taxes for the required time, she can get monthly payments that replace some or all of the income she was earning at her job.
What If She Hasn’t Worked Long Enough?
What happens if your mom is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s before she has worked long enough to pay 10 or more years of Social Security taxes? She may qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), but she will need to meet the income and financial requirements, which can be far more restrictive.
Your family needs to talk to an SSDI attorney about your mom’s diagnosis. She isn’t old enough to qualify for retirement benefits yet, and she needs an income. With SSDI payments, your mom has money to cover her mortgage and bills each month.
An SSDI attorney can walk your mom through the application process, including all of the paperwork she needs, including her job history and medical diagnosis. Don’t leave it to chance. Work with a professional in elder law to ensure your mom’s financial interests are protected during this stressful time.
The Law Office of James Dolenga offers Elder Law Attorney, Estate Planning, SSI, and an SSDI Attorney in Los Angeles, CA.
Call today for your legal consultation. (866) 772-5299
Sources:
https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/LNX/0423022385
https://www.cbpp.org/disability-insurance-benefits-are-modest-1
Attorney Dolenga has successfully guided thousands of severely disabled clients in presenting their claims before the Social Security Administrations administrative law judges and numerous Federal district courts across the country. As a result of these efforts, his clients have been provided with the resources needed to support themselves and their families.
Through this work, Attorney Dolenga also sees first-hand the catastrophic effects a severe, and often sudden, medical diagnosis or death can have on a family emotionally and financially. This allows him to fully understand how critically important advanced planning can be. Whether in drafting a simple will to protect an individual or a couple and their home and bank account or drafting more complex documents, he understands how important this planning can be to the lives of his clients and their families.
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