One of the most repeated and important questions I am asked is how much do I have to pay an attorney up front for representation on a Social Security case. This is arguably one of the most important questions to anyone filing for benefits, especially when you consider that the person filing has most likely been unable to work for a while and is having a hard time paying their bills.
The answer is no; at least with most reputable firms representing clients that is. There may be some attorneys that do charge up front, but my suspicion is that that have zero to none in the way of clients. If you think about it, it would be ridiculous to expect a person that is down on both their health and luck to be able to pay an attorney anything.
I know that the attorneys that I recommend people to understand this and do not expect any of their clients to pay them up front. Instead, they are paid by a contingency fee. Simply put, they get paid if their clients claim is paid! If they claim is denied, then they don’t get paid. In my opinion, this acts as a great motivator to the attorney to work hard and attempt to obtain a favorable decision for their clients.
Next question is how much is paid to the attorney then. In the majority of cases, the attorney gets paid 25% of any back pay they obtain for their clients up to a maximum of six thousand dollars. For example, if the client is awarded $20,000.00 in back pay, then the attorney will generally receive $5,000.00 of this. It is important to know that this payment does not come out of a claimant’s monthly checks that they begin to receive and only comes from the back pay award. This isn’t a hard set number but is just generally what occurs. In some cases where the attorneys have to spend a great deal more than the average amount of time spent in a normal case, the Social Security Administration can and will at times award a higher fee. All fee amounts are regulated by the Social Security Administration and must be approved by them before the attorney can ever get paid. This is a further protection of a person’s rights.
Is it worth it? Each person has to answer this for themselves. Many people try to say a few dollars at first only to ultimately give up and contact an attorney after they have had their application denied or have been denied after a hearing. In fact it is amazing how many people do this. Many times a person files all the paperwork they know to file, provide all the information they can to the best of their ability, but then two years down the road throw their hands in the air and have an attorney start the whole process over again. Sometimes the process isn’t so far gone that the attorney can have the file reopened of continued rather than having to start brand new, but every case is different.
Which ever way you go, just make sure you know the facts and do your research. Be aware of how much time, effort, and work is involved in applying for Social Security benefits before you decide to do it yourself or have and attorney do the work for you.
{ 0 comments }