What do Social Security Advocates for the Disabled do?
People who are already struggling with day-to-day life need to deal with the additional stress of trying navigate through the red tape of the Social Security system to get their disability claims approved. At this time, they would do better to hire Social Security advocates for the disabled to help get through an already difficult situation.
What do Social Security Advocates for the Disabled do?
Social Security advocates for the disabled are professionals who specialize in helping the disabled apply for Social Security disability benefits. They can and will help applicants through each and every stage of the claims process.
What is the difference between a Social Security advocate and a Social Security attorney?
A Social Security attorney may also be a Social Security advocate, but not all Social Security advocates are licensed Social Security attorneys.
A disability attorney attends law school and is expected to live up to the highest standards of ethical conduct by their bar associations. They professionals also carry malpractice insurance and are more qualified to represent your case, especially during the appeals process.
A disability advocate, on the other hand, is not required to attend law school and are not accountable to a higher authority such as an attorney’s bar association. An advocate does not need educational qualifications or licenses to function. But don’t take this to mean that there aren’t some extremely talented and highly qualified Social Security advocates for the disabled out there. There are, in fact, some excellent advocates who are also very highly qualified attorneys who have studied the Social Security Disability process deeply.
Why should you not hire Social Security advocates for the disabled who are not qualified attorneys?
- Advocates working in the Social Security system are not as strictly regulated as attorneys doing the same job. An advocate can train for his or her job with a “Work at Home” training program but will not be educated about the endless nuances of the law. An attorney, on the other hand, goes to years and years of training and learns every aspect of the law and its thousands of interpretations. From a legal perspective, an attorney is more capable of handling your application for Social Security disability.
- There have been cases where Social Security advocates for the disabled have been proved to be working with insurance companies rather than keeping their clients’ best interests in mind. Attorneys have malpractice insurance, which means they cannot afford to misrepresent their clients’ interests.
- Only a disability attorney can represent your case in a Federal District Court. An advocate can only help you as far as the hearing level. After that, if your advocate is not a qualified attorney, you will be left to face Federal Courts alone.
The interesting thing is that attorneys and advocates get paid the same amount for a Social Security Disability case, so why not hire the more qualified professional to ensure that your claim has a better chance of success?
