(Photo not that of the actual client.)
When “Sarah” received notice that her son, “Wesley,” the Social Security Administration (SSA) had overpaid her son’s benefits by nearly $10,000 and that his benefits were therefore being cut, Sarah was referred to JALA’s Northeast Florida Medical Legal Partnership (NFMLP).
The denial of benefits was on the basis that Wesley owned settlement funds from a personal injury matter. Sarah had followed the SSA’s instructions to move the funds into a special needs trust and provided the finalized trust to the SSA, but the SSA did not reinstate Wesley’s benefits and continued to insist that Sarah owed the nearly $10,000 overpayment.
The NFMLP attorney filed a request for reconsideration, arguing for his benefits to be reinstated without a new application because of Sarah’s compliance with the SSA’s instruction to establish a trust. The NFMLP also filed a request for waiver of overpayment.
After months of advocacy and a second request for reconsideration, the NFMLP was able to: secure the SSA’s approval of the trust as an excluded resource; secure a waiver of the alleged overpayment; secure a back payment of $2,500 for Wesley; and get his benefits reinstated going forward. The funds will enable Sarah to continue caring for her medically fragile son.
