My SSDI lawyer called, my SSDI was approved, we won't know for sure until we get a letter in a few days but she said I can count on pretty much this is 100% a sure thing! She said she thinks it happened because I pretty much forced her to take documentation of those 76 MD appts and test results from 2015. In the beginning, she told me give her written updates every 3 mos, then she said no every 6mos, then wait til we hear that my appeal was being considered and give her the last 4 mos before that. She kept jerking me around, so I had all that documentation, wanted to get rid of it, I sent someone to her office with it and she decided to send it to SSDI. She said we got her fav judge, he was under no obligation to look at anything until it was time for my appeal to be heard next Dec. But she said there was so much of it, he must've felt it needed to be read now. So he did and he approved me! And they are usually really hard on anyone under 50.
I can't believe this, the normal way it works is I would have appeared before a judge in Dec, I wouldn't get an answer until next Feb and they would send the back payments 3 months after that. The judge didn't even ask to see me. I will receive the back payments in 3 mos! I have to pay back long term disability that money but ex will also get the back payments for child support then, too. We were wrong about the money, he will be getting double what we thought until Claire graduates HS next year. This amt is double what a court would make me pay in child support based on my income, so we are stating half should then be put into a savings account for Claire's college money from me. That would be so unbelievably awesome. This puts my ex's child support battle to bed, he cannot not accept it because he is getting a huge back payment and support at double what he has a right to. And he can't have it both ways, double child support and then he says I paid nothing for college. It's over, no judge would settle it any different according to my lawyer, if we end up going back to court, he is truly an idiot, what was said above would happen would be done by a judge and we both lose by having to pay for it to be yet another issue he escalates to the court level for no reason.
OMG, this feels like a miracle. I was not going to be rude and shove those papers under my lawyer's nose, but I just decided to do it because I could not understand why she kept flip-flopping. That was only 2 weeks ago, she sent them and they decided in my favor. I just don't even believe it. She said I am very fortunate and I had a very good team of docs writing thorough notes for me, she actually said I am her first person under 50 to get it so fast with no appearance before a judge except for a few terminally ill clients. Even she can't believe it's happening.
This is not a lot of money I will be receiving and she said my long term disability will very likely stop in 16 mos or sooner, so I would then be living on less than $1900 a month for the rest of my life. But it is fairly stable money, they are not double checking your health every few months and you have to worry it will suddenly stop, like I do with LTD. they might re-eval me in 3-5 yrs. I can sleep knowing that I have that amt coming in.
I am going to have to learn to be even more frugal when I lose LTD. Because that SSDI payment goes down by $700 a month when you take out Cobra, co-pays and meds. That leaves $1100 pre-tax. There is no way I can pull my full wt around here, just taxes would take another $550 a month. Leaving $550 for every single other expense in my life. My dad has not made me pay taxes since I got sick and they are willing to let me coast on some things around here when the time comes. I feel horrible doing that and right now while I am still getting long term disability, the only thing I'm not paying is taxes, although they do occasionally coast me on food.
If there is anyone out there living on less than $1900 a month, got any advice?
I am still in shock.
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