SSDI Lawyer Question

[Loren Ver]

Hopefully a quick question

TLDR; for SSDI - does it matter which state the lawyer is located since it is a federal program?

I have a friend that is as adult that is on SSDI as a child (could never hold a job due to disability). 
She got the SSDI through her father before he passed away, he lived in Illinois.  She now lives in Indiana.  She has a family member that lives further south that will be leaving her an inheritance that might have an affect on her SSDI income.   

I told her she should seek a lawyer and a tax person instead of relying on well meaning family thinks might happen.  So if she finds a SSDI lawyer here in Indiana, will that work or will she need a person in the state of the family member that is soon to die, or in Illinois, that state where she got the SSDI from?

I was thinking it shouldn't matter, but I don't want to say it doesn't and then it turns out it really does without asking.  Some googling says SSDI transfers between states, but I'm not finding much actually helpful information.

Thanks!

Loren

[cool7hand]

SSDI is a federal program that is usually administered by the individual states. In other words, jurisdiction does matter.

E.g., https://www.disabilitysecrets.com/dnewsblog/2010/01/what-are-ssi-disability-state.html

[DireWolf]

If it really is SSDI, and not SSI, then inheritance won’t matter, as SSDI is not based on need. SSI is completely different

[Loren Ver]

Thank you for the replies.  The more I dig, the more it looks like for SSDI (not SSI which she does not have) it wont be a problem.  When a previous grandparent passed away, they set up a trust for her where the money can never come directly to her as to not mess with her SSDI.  Seems like that might have been overkill.  Or the reason she was given (SSDI) was not the reason it was done.

LV

[better late]

I have a relative who receives SSDI.

He currently pays a 20% copay on some of his medications/procedures and Medicare pays the rest. Because of COVID he has not been able to earn any income and has spent down much of his savings.

At some point (I believe it's assets at $2000 and under)  he will be eligible to apply for Medicaid to pay the rest of the copay.

--

I am of the opinion that that trust that the grandparent set up was not overkill; I am contemplating setting up a Special Needs Trust for my relative. It's really hard to think through every scenario that might come up over time or to anticipate changes to the programs in the future.

[MayDay]

@Tami1982  might have some insight. She is an expert at this stuff!

[terran]

Based on your question it sounds like you think the easier solution would be to find a lawyer local to her, and I would say that's probably also the correct solution since, as others have said, these programs are administered by the state you live in.

It sounds like her grandparents left her a special needs trust, so if the lawyer says that she could lose benefits if she's left this inheritance it's possible the person she'll inherit from could leave her inheritance to this trust without creating their own trust. It would be worth having the lawyer weigh in on that though.

[Loren Ver]

Thank you for the replies.

I think the different family members; living, recently deceased, and soon to be deceased; are all doing their best to make sure she is protected moving forward to the best of their abilities given that the situation is confusing and cannot be fixed if it is disrupted.  It is good that she has so many people around her that care.

Talking to a professional is what I am going to recommend, but knowing she probably doesn't need to talk to up to three (one for each different state) is going to make life easier. 

LV