Social security is denying payment to my 4 year old son who has been classified as disabled because they say we are over resources because we have two cars. One car we are paying on to it has been excepted but my husbands truck is paid off and they are stating it is worth a lot more than it is. On top of that, the truck has a lien against it because it is being held as collateral for a tractor loan that he has. And even worse is the truck is not worth much because it needs a new engine but we can’t sell it for what we owe on the tractor. Is this worth fighting for?

Hi. You're obviously referring to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for your son. Unlike Social Security, SSI is needs based, and a parent's income and resources can cause a child to be ineligible for SSI.

I can't really advise you without knowing all of the facts of your case, but it wouldn't cost you anything to pursue an appeal. You don't need an attorney to pursue an appeal, but if you choose to hire one then you would be responsible for any fee that they charge. If you do file a request for appeal you would want to explain why you believe Social Security's determination is incorrect, and submit any evidence you have to support your argument.

There are several levels of appeal, and the first step is reconsideration. The standard form for requesting reconsideration is an SSA-561 (https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ssa-561.pdf). If your reconsideration request is disallowed, you could then file a request for a hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ). Most successful appeals occur at the hearing level. For more information on the appeals process, refer to the following Social Security publication: https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10058.pdf.

Best, Jerry