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Will getting married affect my social security disability case?

Will getting married affect my social security disability case?

At Sharon Christie Law, a Baltimore Social Security Disability Law Firm, we are often asked the question, will getting married affect my Social Security Disability Case? In this video, Sharon Christie examines this question and provides you with the answer.

Official Transcript: Will getting married affect my social security disability case?

Hi I’m Sharon Christie your nurse attorney for Social Security disability cases. Today I want to talk to you about marriage, and you may be wondering why is she talking about that I thought she was going to talk about disability. Well sometimes in some cases marriage can be an important factor and in other cases not. Let me explain the difference.

Many times, people ask me this question if your case is through Social Security Disability to figure out if you are eligible to try to get disability benefits Social Security looks at your work history and how much have you worked. Have you paid into the system, if you’ve worked enough paying into the system, then you can try to get benefits through the Social Security system. Social Security doesn’t really care if you’re married or not, they just want to know have you worked enough.

Now there is one exception for widowed or widowers claims. If you have not worked enough but you are a widow or widower and your spouse, your deceased spouse, did work enough paying into Social Security and you can meet other technical requirements. Then you may be able to get benefits based on your spouse’s earnings history, but for most people what Social Security cares about is not whether you’re married. They care about whether you have worked enough paying into the system. 

Where marriage becomes a real issue is if you are trying to get disability benefits through SSI or Supplemental Security income. Now the Supplemental Security income disability program is administered by the Social Security Administration, but it is an asset-based program. Now what does that mean? 

That means that the first thing that Social Security looks at is what do you own? How much money do you have? How much income do you have, and this is where marriage does become a factor because Social Security looks at family income? So, you may not be working because of your illnesses but your spouse is on Social Security will look at what the family income is. What does your spouse make, how much money do you jointly have in the bank, etc. To determine if you meet the asset limitations under SSI disability. 

So, marriage certainly doesn’t prevent anyone from applying for disability but it becomes an issue as far as how much is your family income if your application is through SSI disability. On the other side, for Social Security, Social Security doesn’t care how much family income you have. What I typically tell people is look they don’t care what how much money you have in the bank on the Social Security disability side of things. You could be Bill Gates, you can have a gazillion dollars, they don’t care about that. All they care about is do you have medical evidence that shows that you meet their definition of disabled. 

So, I hope that gives some clarification to any questions you may have had about how marriage might affect your Social Security disability case. For more information about Social Security disability go to my website at www.sharonchristielaw.com be sure to order a copy of my free book, or you can call the office at 877-764-7120, we hope to hear from you.

The Path to Social Security Disability Benefits with Sharon Christie Law

Step 1: Understanding Social Security’s Definition of Disabled

The definition of disabled, according to Social Security, is that you have severe limitations from your health problems that keep you from doing any kind of work for at least 12 consecutive months. This is the first thing we look at when evaluating your case. Your diagnosis is just the starting point. To get disability benefits for you, we must prove that your disabling condition causes severe limitations in your day to day activities.

Step 2: Medical Records in Your Disability Case

You must have medical evidence to prove your disability case. The most important evidence is your medical records that show your diagnosis, your symptoms, and your response to treatment.

Step 3: Don’t go it alone: How Sharon Christie Law Can Help You

At Sharon Christie Law, a Social Security Disability Law Firm, we recognize that no one ever plans to get so sick that they have to stop working. When you need to apply for Social Security Disability Benefits we recognize that you will be anxious about the process and whether you can qualify for disability benefits. Our goal at Sharon Christie Law is to help you win your case and give you the financial stability you need! Why work with us?

We do it all for you: At Sharon Christie Law we handle all aspects of the case for you, from preparing and filing your application through the hearing with a judge. We are with you every step of the way.  When working with us, you focus on feeling better, and we focus on winning your case.

We return your phone calls: We understand that you have many questions regarding Social Security Disability Benefits. We never want you to wonder what is happening with your case. We are here to answer your questions. All phone calls and emails are returned within 24 hours. That is our promise to you.

We believe in client education: The Social Security Disability process is confusing. We think it is important that you understand each step in the process. So, we created a section on our website that is accessible only to clients. This client’s only section tells you everything you need to know about the disability process.