Social Security Disability &
  Special Needs Planning News from
 Sheri R. Abrams, Attorney at Law,
 Partner at Needham Mitnick & Pollack, PLC  
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In This Issue
Social Security Adds 25 New Compassionate Allowances Conditions
How Will Receiving Child Support Payments Affect a child's SSI Benefits?
UPCOMING EVENTS!

 

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NMP is again sponsoring the "Reel Abilities" Film Festival.  Reel Abilities is  the largest festival in the country dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories and artistic expressions of people with different disabilities.  For more information please click here.

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Issue: # 66

 January 2014

Picture of Social Security Card and Dice

 

     

 

Welcome to our monthly newsletter. 

 

These monthly newsletters are designed to provide useful information on Disability Law & Issues with a special emphasis on Social Security Disability & Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits and Special Needs Trusts & Planning.

 

You may have been added to our e-mail newsletter mailing list if you are a client, business associate, a Facebook friend, a Linked-In connection, or another professional contact of Sheri R. Abrams, Attorney at Law, or the Law Firm of Needham Mitnick & Pollack, plc.

 

You may unsubscribe by clicking on the link at the end of this e-mail.

Social Security Adds 25 New Compassionate Allowances Conditions

 

Social Security LogoThe Social Security Administration has expanded its list of conditions qualifying for expedited processing for disability benefits.

 

The 25 new Compassionate Allowances conditions, including a dozen cancers, brings the total number of conditions on the Compassionate Allowances list to 225.

 

The Compassionate Allowances program reduces the time it takes to make decisions on disability applications filed by claimants with the most serious disabilities, so they receive decisions on their claims within days, instead of months or years.

 

The new conditions are:  

  1. Angiosarcoma
  2. Atypical Teratoid/Rhabdoid Tumor
  3. Chronic Idiopathic Intestinal Pseudo Obstruction
  4. Coffin- Lowry Syndrome
  5. Esthesioneuroblastoma
  6. Giant Axonal Neuropathy
  7. Hoyeaal-Hreidarsson Syndrome
  8. Intracranial Hemangiopericytoma
  9. Joubert Syndrome
  10. Leptomeningeal Carcinomatosis
  11. Liposarcoma- metastatic or recurrent
  12. Malignant Ectomesenchymoma
  13. Malignant Renal Rhabdoid Tumor
  14. Marshall-Smith Syndrome
  15. Oligodendroglioma Brain Tumor- Grade III
  16. Pallister-Killian Syndrome
  17. Progressive Bulbar Palsy
  18. Prostate Cancer - Hormone Refractory  Disease - or with visceral metastases
  19. Revesz Syndrome
  20. Seckel Syndrome
  21. Sjogren-Larsson Syndrome
  22. Small Cell Cancer of the Thymus
  23. Soft Tissue Sarcoma- with distant metastases or recurrent
  24. X-Linked Lymphoproliferative Disease
  25. X-Linked Myotubular Myopathy 

To see the complete list of Compassionate Allowances conditions, please click here.

How Will Receiving Child Support Payments Affect a Child's SSI Benefits?
Child Support 
I was recently asked a question as to whether or not Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits will be affected if a child receives child support payments.
 

The Social Security Administration defines child support as payments from a parent to be used for a child's needs, such as food and shelter. These payments are classified as unearned income for the eligible child.

 

Currently, one-third of monthly child support payments are excluded from countable income when calculating the benefit amount for a child approved for SSI.

 

The remaining two-thirds of the monthly child support payment is countable income and will be used to reduce the amount of SSI benefits a child will receive.

 

For example, a parent has custody of a child with a disability who has been approved for his full SSI benefit ($721 in 2014) and receives $300 per month in child support from the absent parent for this child's support and maintenance.  When calculating the SSI benefits for the child, the Social Security Administration will exclude $100 of the child support payments, and the remaining $200 will be subtracted from the SSI benefit as countable income.  In this example the child would received $521 in SSI benefits.

 

In a situation like the one described above, it may make sense to create a Special Needs Trust for the child's benefit.  For example,  if instead of making child support payments the absent parent made contributions to the child's Special Needs Trust then the child would receive the entire $721 in SSI benefits.

 

For more information about SSI benefits and/or Special Needs Trusts, please call our office at 703-536-7778 for an appointment.

 

Sheri Abrams' Book "Don't Gamble With Your Social Security Disability Benefits--What Every Virginia Resident Needs To Know To Win A Social Security Disability Case" Is Available

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For more information please click here to see our Press Release.  

 

Available for purchase at Amazon.com or you can download a free copy of the book at: 

 

 
 

 

www.sheriabrams.com 

 

or

 

http://www.nmpattorneys.com/news-announcements/

 

                             

 

   
Now Available For Nook & Kindle

 

Kindle 

"Don't Gamble With Your Social Security Disability Benefits--What Every Virginia Resident Needs To Know To Win A Social Security Disability Case" is now available for the Nook here.

 

and the Kindle here.

 

OUR OFFICE LOCATION

 

The law firm of Needham Mitnick & Pollack, PLC, is located at:

 

NMP's Office Building 

 

400 S. Maple Avenue
Suite 210
Falls Church, VA 22046
(703) 536-7778

 

 

This is in downtown Falls Church and the office has plenty of free and accessible parking.

 

REFERRALS

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If you know of someone who could use my legal services or any of the other members of the law firm of Needham Mitnick & Pollack, PLC, please forward to him/her this e-mail newsletter or give him/her our telephone number: (703) 536-7778.

  

We provide legal services in the areas of Social Security Disability Law, Elder Law, Wills and Trusts, Probate, Trust Administration, Powers of Attorney, Advance Medical Directives, Guardianships, Long Term Care Planning, Disability Planning, Medicaid Eligibility, Student Loan Discharge, Veterans Benefits and Special Needs Trusts.
   
If you, or someone you know, is involved with an educational event or support group that would benefit from a presentation on any of the areas of law for which we provide legal services, please call us at (703) 536-7778.