Will my social security benefits cover the cost of a disability attorney?

Your Social Security disability benefits, if and when approved and awarded, may be used to cover the cost of attorney fees in connection with legal representation and assistance in processing and/or appealing a Social Security disability claim.  Know that there is no separate or specific Social Security coverage ear marked to specifically cover the cost of a claim representative, however, there is a fairly complicated administrative process that must be followed concerning attorney or claim representative fees.  That administrative process serves to protect applicants from being subjected to excessive or inappropriate representation fees and as such is well worth completing correctly. 

• Step one: Obtain the Appointment of Representative Form, SSA-1694-U4.
• Step two: Complete and submit the Appointment of Representative Form naming your attorney as your claim representative.  The attorney must accept the role of acting as your claim representative by signing the appropriate part of the form.
• Step three: Your attorney must request approval of his fee as charged in connection with serving as your claim representative. 
• Step four: The applicant or claimant will only owe the representative the amount of the fee that is fully approved by the Social Security Administration.  Representatives must beware that where there has been no fee approved by Social Security their client would owe nothing. 

The disability claimant and his legal representative must work together not only on gaining a swift approval of benefits based on the disability claim but on facilitating a fair legal service fee agreement or payment plan that can be not only approved by the Social Security Administration but that can be reasonably met by a financially disadvantaged and disabled client.