Arizona Social Security Disability Lawyer
Social Security Disability
Live free of worry
Disability benefits ease the burden of living with medical and physical limitations. The U.S. Social Security Administration provides these benefits through the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. For more than 50 years, our Social Security disability attorneys at Taylor & Associates have helped individuals facing these challenges secure the benefits they depend on. We stand ready to help you today.
Our team at Taylor & Associates specializes in guiding individuals through the Social Security disability process with clarity, confidence, and compassion. We use our extensive knowledge of federal regulations, medical evidence requirements, and administrative procedures to strengthen your claim from the beginning. We prepare your application accurately, build a solid case, and advocate for you throughout the entire process. While we manage the paperwork, deadlines, and legal issues, you can focus on your health and well-being.
Filing for Social Security disability can feel overwhelming, especially when you are already coping with a serious medical condition. Our experienced team simplifies the process by helping you gather the right documentation, organize medical records, and meet essential filing requirements. If your claim has already been denied, we step in to evaluate your case, file an appeal, and represent you at hearings. From the initial application to the final decision, we stay by your side, ensuring that you receive the support and benefits you deserve.
Why Choose Taylor & Associates?
Choosing the right legal team can make all the difference in your Social Security disability case. At Taylor & Associates, we pair decades of experience with a personalized, client-focused approach. We understand how stressful and confusing the disability process can feel, which is why we take the time to listen, explain your options, and build a strategy tailored to your situation. Our attorneys know the system, know the rules, and know how to present your case effectively. When you work with us, you gain a dedicated team that fights for your rights, communicates openly, and stays committed to securing the benefits you deserve. You don’t have to navigate this process alone, let us stand with you every step of the way.
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FAQs From Our Clients
You must have a medical condition that:
- Prevents you from working
- Is expected to last at least 12 months or result in death
You can apply online, by phone, or in person. However, many applicants are denied initially due to missing information or errors.
The Social Security Administration requires judges consider if an individual’s substance abuse problems are a factor material to the disability determination. This means the judge will consider the effects of drugs on your disability.
Often SSA uses a period of known sobriety and compares the symptoms and limitations during that time with the symptoms and limitations with periods of know drug use. If there is substantial evidence in the record that demonstrates that when the claimant is NOT abusing drugs or alcohol the claimant’s symptoms are managed and is capable of working, the judge can deny benefits finding drugs or alcohol are responsible for not working and the claimant’s health would improve and could work if stopped using drugs or alcohol.
Common reasons include:
- Lack of medical evidence
- Incomplete applications
- Failure to follow treatment
It can take several months to over a year, depending on the stage of your case and whether appeals are required.
Your Social Security disability monthly benefits is determined by Social Security Administration and is based on the amount you paid into the FICA taxes for all the years you worked. The severity of your disability does not affect the amount of benefits you receive. Individuals with dependents (under 18) could receive an additional amount. You can estimate your monthly SSDI payment with the Social Security Administration calculator or find the amount in your Annual Statement.
There are limits on how much you can earn. Working above certain thresholds may impact your eligibility.
Social Security Administration encourages claimants to return to work so they can determine you are no longer disabled and stop your benefits!!! Any Earnings of $750 or more a month is a trigger for Social Security Administration. Social Security Administration will consider any month with earnings of $750 or more as a month you tried to work. If you have more than 9 months (not necessarily consecutive) of earnings of $750 or greater in a 5 year (60 month period), Social Security may review your case to see if you are still disabled. This is called a “Trial Work Period.”
Social Security Administration also has a program called Ticket To Work that they represent as providing a safety net that allows you to work another three years. During those three years, you can work and still receive benefits. At the end of the three years your benefits are stopped.
Working while on Supplemental Security Income
If you receive SSI and work, you must report every month’s earnings. Social Security Administration will not offset any earning less than $65 a month. Any earning over $65 a month will reduce your benefits.
Any work and all earnings can affect your disability benefits. If you have a job opportunity, please call and consult with the attorney about how the job will affect your benefits or case.
You can try to ask for an expedited hearing because of dire needs. In our experience this has not been very successful but we are happy to make the request.
Social Security Administration looks at the following information when considering a dire need:
The claimant must allege specific, immediate circumstances:
(1) lack of food (i.e., without and unable to obtain food),
(2) lack of medicine or medical care (e.g., the claimant expresses that he/she needs medicine/medical care but is without and unable to obtain it; the claimant does not have any health insurance, or indicates that access to necessary medical care is restricted because of lack of resources), and/or
(3) lack of shelter (e.g., shut-off of utilities such that home is uninhabitable, homelessness, expiration of shelter stay, or imminent eviction or foreclosure with no means to remedy the situation or obtain shelter).
HALLEX I-2-1-40
We will ask you to write a short letter about your dire need and we can submit to Social Security Administration.
Legal guidance can help:
- Strengthen your application
- Avoid delays
- Improve your chances of approval
An adult disabled before age 22 may be eligible for child’s benefits if they meet the criteria for disability as an adult and have a parent that is deceased or starts receiving retirement or disability benefits. This is considered a “child’s” benefit because it is paid on a parent’s Social Security earnings record. It is often referred to as Disabled Adult Child’s benefits. An adult disabled before age 22 that does not have parents that fit this criteria is not eligible for Disabled Adult Child’s benefits but may still qualify for Supplemental Security Income benefits if they meet requirements for adult disability and the financial requirements.
There are a few special circumstances for Disabled Adult Child’s benefit recipients regarding marriage and working.
The United States Supreme Court reviewed the issue of marriage and Disabled Adult Child’s benefits and decided if a person receiving Disabled Adult Child’s benefits gets married, that individual is no longer eligible for those benefits. If the marriage ends (death or divorce), and the individual that was getting Disabled Adult Child’s benefits needs to re-apply for benefits, he may be eligible for benefits but not under the Disabled Adult Child’s benefits criteria. The important cases about this are Fiola v. Sullivan, 922 F.2d 526 (9th Cir. 1990) and McMahon v. Califano, 605 F.2d 49 (2d Cir. 1979), cert. denied 444 U.S. 847, 100 S. Ct. 93, 62 L.Ed.2d 60.
Also, if an individual receiving Disabled Adult Child’s benefits should find gainful work and benefits end, should that individual later have difficulty and need to reapply for Social Security Disability benefits, he will not be considered for Disabled Adult Child’s benefits because Social Security considers his ability to have sustained work negates a continuous period of disability from the age of 22. He may be able to reapply but not under Disabled Adult Child’s status.