Monmouth County's Ask the Doctor

Good news for people who are managing someone else’s money! The popular Managing Someone Else’s Money (MSEM) guides are now available for FREE in eBook format. The easy-to-understand guides are for the millions of Americans who manage money or property for another person who’s unable to make financial decisions. The guides also include tips on protecting a loved one’s assets from fraud and scams. The MSEM guides cover four different financial caregiver types and are available in English and Spanish: • Agents under a Power of Attorney • Court-appointed Guardians • Trustees • Government Fiduciaries More than 1 million copies of the MSEM guides have been distributed since their release in 2013. And now the MSEM eBooks are available free to the public through consumer and academic channels as well as on the U.S. Government website. The exact link is https://bookstore.gpo.gov/agen- cy/consumer-financial-protection-bureau-cfpb

TIPS FOR APPLYING FOR SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY BENEFITS: Social security disability benefits are available if you have a severe medical impairment that prevents you from being “gainfully” employed for at least 12 months. Because peo- ple fill out the application themselves without using a lawyer, here are some tips to increase the likelihood of successfully getting benefits down the road. 1. Give the Social Security Administration all the infor- mation it asks in a straightforward way. Be truthfully and do not exaggerate or minimize your disability. 2. List all your medical problems, not just the major one. If you do not qualify on the major medical issue, the combination of your other medical problems may help you obtain benefits. 3. Complete a Disability Report and Function Report to explain how your medical impairment keeps you from working. If you are under age 50, your explanation must include why you cannot do any job, not just the jobs you have done and explain why you cannot work full time. 4. Have a relative or friend complete a Third Party func- tion report to support your claims of your symptoms and inability to do certain things. 5. If you have been terminated from jobs due to your in- ability to perform a job, ask for you your work records or evaluations and submit them. 6. If you are denied, speak with an attorney to see if you are likely to succeed at a reconsideration appeal or a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge. 7. If you are appealing to the Administrative Law Judge, never do it alone. The hearing is an actual trial and So- cial Security will hire experts that need to be cross-ex- amined. You are better served by hiring a lawyer to represent you who can gather the appropriate medical evidence, ask you the right questions in your testimony and more importantly cross-examine the Social Securi- ty experts who claim you can work. We do not charge to meet with your and we are only paid if we win your case. DON'T FACE THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION ALONE! IT IS NOT THAT EASY CONTINGENCY FEE – WE ONLY GET PAID IF YOU WIN •Social Security Disability (SSD) •Supplemental Security Income (SSI) •Adults and Children

F I N A N C I A L H E A LT H

Frances Anne Tomes, Esq. Tomes Law Firm, PC 1 West Main St, 3rd Floor

Freehold, NJ 07728 Tel: (732) 333-0681 WWW.TOMESLAW.COM

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ASK THE DOCTOR

SUMMER 2020