It often feels like there are glaring gaps in the support available to a person with disabilities—especially a person who had disabilities from a young age and into adulthood.
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits were created to fill one kind of gap: financial help for adults who worked for years but had to stop because of health impairments.
Some disability benefits are for children from families in financial need. There are disability benefits for spouses and disability benefits for widows or widowers.
But what about someone who’s an adult with a disability, has never been able to work much and isn’t married?
If you or a family member have this situation, there is an option, run by Social Security, which Social Security calls, “Disabled Adult Child (DAC) Benefits.”
The idea behind DAC benefits is that you’re an adult, but you’ve never been able to work because of medical conditions that started at an early age. So you are covered for disability benefits using a parent’s eligibility for Social Security.
DAC benefits provide financial assistance that can improve your life, or the life of a loved one, allowing greater independence and dignity.
But it’s frustratingly complicated to apply and receive benefits.
A Social Security Disability lawyer can help you through this process. And there’s no fee for a disability lawyer until you win benefits.
Robertson Wendt Disability is devoted to helping people in South Carolina get these benefits. We’ve helped thousands of people.
How Do You Qualify for DAC Benefits?
For someone to get disability benefits as the adult child of another Social Security recipient, they have to meet standards for both their health needs and family situation.
These are the qualifying circumstances spelled out by the Social Security Administration (SSA) for “Disabled Adult Child” benefits:
- Having a disability under Social Security’s disability rules for adults
- Having at least one parent who receives Social Security Disability or retirement benefits
- Or having a parent who died after working enough to qualify for Social Security benefits
- Not being married (except in some cases if you’re married to another person who qualifies for these benefits)
It sounds simple enough to say someone must have a qualifying disability. But that’s when things get complicated.
Social Security’s idea of a disability is shaped by thousands of rules and centers around how much a person may be able to work.
If you’re in South Carolina, an experienced South Carolina disability lawyer can help you and your family through this process.
Robertson Wendt Disability has offices in Charleston and Columbia that serve the whole state.
You can start moving toward getting this crucial financial help by getting our disability attorneys to review your case—at no charge to you.
