President Barack Obama just signed hate crime legislation that extends federal hate crimes to include those committed against people because of gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. It also loosens limits on when federal law enforcement can intervene and prosecute crimes.

Obama said in East Room reception, surrounded by supporters, “No one in America should be forced to look over their shoulder because of who they are, or because they live with a disability.”

For more on this new law, please click here.

The Circle of Support Conference is a conference for families of children with special needs and the professionals who work with them. The conference is sponsored by the ARC of Prince William County.

The conference is taking place on Saturday, November 7, 2009 from 8:30 AM until 3:30 PM.

The conference is taking place at: Hylton High School, 14051 Spriggs Road, Woodbridge, VA 22193.

For info about this conference please see this website: http://arcgpw.org/

Ms. Abrams will be speaking on The In’s and Out’s of Qualifying for Social Security Disability & SSI Benefits –

In this workshop, Sheri Abrams will discuss what social security disability and SSI benefits are, who qualifies for them (with emphasis on families of children with special needs), how the application and appeal process work, what to do if denied benefits, and when to hire an attorney and the costs involved. Sheri R. Abrams is an attorney specializing in Social Security Disability law and the preparation of wills, special needs trusts, living wills, financial powers of attorney, and health care powers of attorney. She is a sole practitioner in Fairfax, VA.

Unfortunately, a diagnosis of a terminal illness often comes with many expenses. If you need money to pay for your medical care or comfort, you may be able to use your life insurance policy to get some immediate cash. “Viatical settlements” allow terminally ill individuals to sell their life insurance policies. Alternatively, some insurance companies allow you to receive an accelerated death benefit.

A viatical settlement is similar to a life settlement, but it is designed for individuals that are terminally ill. You sell your policy to a company, which then collects the death benefit when you die. Most companies require that you have owned your policy for at least two years, your beneficiaries sign a release or waiver, you have a life expectancy of anywhere from two to four years (depending on the company), and you allow the company access to your medical records.

A company will usually pay more than the cash surrender value, but less than the death benefit, although the exact price depends on a number of factors. In determining price, companies look at your life expectancy, how long you have had the policy, and the face value of the policy, among other things.

Rather than selling your policy, some insurance companies allow you to collect a portion of your death benefit before you die. This is called an accelerated death benefit. This option may be included as part of your policy or you may have to pay extra for it.

Accelerated death benefits are paid under certain circumstances, usually the onset of a terminal illness, the need for long-term care, or the diagnosis of a specified medical condition. The amount you can receive may be capped and you may be able to receive either a lump sum or monthly payments. Any remaining amount will go to your beneficiaries when you die.

Both viatical settlements and accelerated death benefits could have tax consequences and affect Medicaid planning. Before taking either option, you should consult with attorney Sheri Abrams.

Fairfax Virginia Attorney Sheri Abrams has been selected by her peers as a member of Virginia’s Legal Elite for 2009.

In cooperation with the Virginia Bar Association, Virginia Business magazine asked lawyers throughout the commonwealth to nominate the best in their profession in 15 practice categories.

Ms. Abrams will be listed with the other winners in the December issue of Virginia Business magazine.

President Obama just announced his intent to nominate Disability Expert Chai R. Feldblum for Commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC has five commissioners.

Chai Feldblum, a law professor at Georgetown University Law Center, previously served as legislative counsel to the AIDS Project of the American Civil Liberties Union, where she played a role in the drafting of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Her degrees are from Harvard Law School and Barnard College, and she went on to clerk for Judge Frank Coffin on the First Circuit Court of Appeals and Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun.

I have the pleasure of knowing Chai Feldblum and feel that President Obama could not have made a better selection.

Good News: If you are – or know someone — applying for Social Security disability benefits, the waiting time for a decision is likely to be shorter rather than longer.

Since 1999, the number of people waiting for a decision on disability benefits swelled — and the waiting times became longer and longer. The results were often tragic – people lost their homes, families broke apart, people did not get badly needed medical care. Sad to say, nearly every year some people died while waiting for a decision.

Now – for the first time in a decade – the Social Security Administration has reduced both the number of people waiting for decisions on their disability applications and the waiting time to get a decision. SSA Commissioner Michael Astrue made the announcement in a recent press release.

We’ve been fighting for this for many years. The problem is that for many years, the Social Security Administration’s work load went up but its budget went down. The strains on the Social Security Administration became worse as the Baby Boomers began to retire. Finally, there was a small budget increase in 2008 and a more substantial increase in 2009.

Bad News: The recession threatens to overwhelm the recent improvements – and may make the waiting times pop right back up. The number of people applying for both disability and retirement benefits is rising dramatically. In a recession, people with disabilities and seniors who lose their jobs and cannot find another apply for Social Security retirement and disability benefits.

Stephen C. Goss, a top Social Security official, recently said that normally about 2.5 million people apply for disability benefits each year. By contrast, as of September 30, 2009, the annual applications were expected to be 3 million – with even higher numbers yet to come. “When there’s a bad recession and we lose 6 million jobs, people of all types are going to be part of that,” Goss said.

Associated Press – The Social Security Administration makes it official Thursday: There will be no cost of living increase for Social Security recipients next year, the first year without one since automatic adjustments were adopted in 1975.

The announcement comes as President Barack Obama and key members of Congress call for a second round of $250 payments to more than 50 million seniors, veterans, retired railroad workers and people with disabilities.

The payments would be equal to about a 2 percent increase for the average Social Security recipient. The cost: $13 billion.

Obama called on Congress Wednesday to approve the payments, and several key members of Congress said they would.

“This additional assistance will be especially important in the coming months, as countless seniors and others have seen their retirement accounts and home values decline as a result of this economic crisis,” Obama said in a statement.

Blame falling consumer prices for no automatic increase next year. By law, Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, is pegged to inflation, which was negative this year, due largely to falling energy costs.

The $250 payments would go to Social Security recipients as well as those receiving veterans benefits or disability benefits, railroad retirees and retired public employees who don’t receive Social Security. Recipients would be limited to one payment, even if they qualified for more.

Obama said he would not allow the payments to come out of the Social Security trust funds and further erode the finances of the retirement program. Social Security already is projected to pay out more in benefits than it collects in taxes in each of the next two years.

However, Obama did not offer any alternatives to finance the payments. A senior administration official said Obama was open to borrowing the money, increasing the federal budget deficit. The official, who requested anonymity, was not authorized to speak on the record.

The $250 payments would match the ones issued to seniors earlier this year as part of the massive economic recovery package enacted in February. Those, too, were financed with borrowed money.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he supports sending out another round of payments, as did Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over Social Security in the House.

Other lawmakers said Social Security recipients shouldn’t get the extra payments because the formula doesn’t call for it.

“I think it would be inappropriate,” said Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H. “The reason we set up this process was to have the Social Security reimbursement reflect the cost of living.”

Social Security payments increased by 5.8 percent in January, the largest increase since 1982. The big increase was largely because of a spike in energy costs in 2008.

Inflation has been negative this year as gasoline prices have dropped 30 percent and overall energy costs have dropped 23 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Social Security payments, however, cannot go down. The average monthly Social Security payment for all Social Security recipients is $1,094.

Productivity and Processing Times Also Improve

Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that for the first time since 1999, the agency has ended the year with fewer disability hearings pending than in the prior year. Social Security ended fiscal year (FY) 2009 with 722,822 hearings pending compared to 760,813 hearings pending at the start of the year, a reduction of more than 37,000 cases. Over the same period, the average processing time for these cases improved from 514 days in FY 2008 to 491 in FY 2009.

“Our backlog reduction plan is working, and progress is accelerating,” Commissioner Astrue said. “Even in the face of a significant increase in our workloads as a result of the worst recession since the Great Depression, we have reduced the hearings backlog for nine consecutive months. Thanks to the efforts of thousands of hardworking Social Security employees and the additional funding we received from President Obama and the Congress, we have exceeded our backlog reduction goal for this year.”

To achieve its backlog reduction goals, the agency has embarked on the largest expansion in decades of its capacity to hear disability appeals. This year, the agency hired 147 new Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) and 850 support staff and plans to hire 226 additional ALJs plus support staff in FY 2010. To provide flexibility to assist the most backlogged hearing offices, the agency opened three new National Hearing Centers (NHCs) in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Baltimore, Maryland; and Chicago, Illinois. The agency also has aggressive plans to open 14 new hearing offices and 4 satellite offices by the end of next year with the first of those new offices opening in Anchorage, Alaska in the next few months.

In addition to reducing the number of cases awaiting a hearing decision, the agency again targeted the oldest and most difficult cases for processing. Beginning in FY 2007 with 65,000 cases that were 1,000 days old or older, the agency has continually attacked its “aged” cases. This year, the agency targeted 166,838 cases that were 850 days or older and virtually eliminated this entire universe of cases. The goal in FY 2010 has been reset again to eliminate cases over 825 days old.

Social Security’s ALJs also continue to increase their productivity. The agency averaged 570 dispositions (2.28 per day) per available ALJ in FY 2009, an upward trend that has continued for the last three years.

From the White House (10/5/09):

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Washington, D.C. – President Obama today announced that his Administration is taking several steps to ensure that there is fair and equal access to employment for all Americans, particularly the 54 million people in this country living with disabilities. The announcement comes during National Disability Employment Awareness Month.

“My Administration is committed to ensuring that all Americans have the chance to fulfill their potential and contribute to our nation,” said President Obama. “Across this country, millions of people with disabilities are working or want to work, and they should have access to the support and services they need to succeed. As the nation’s largest employer, the Federal Government and its contractors can lead the way by implementing effective employment policies and practices that increase opportunities and help workers achieve their full potential. We must also rededicate ourselves to fostering an inclusive work culture that welcomes the skills and talents of all qualified employees. That’s why I’ve asked the responsible agencies to develop new plans and policies to help increase employment across America for people with disabilities.”

The following are some of the steps the Obama Administration will take:

•The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) will collaborate to sponsor and organize a day long Federal Government-wide job fair for people with disabilities. The Fair will take place in early spring 2010. In addition to the Job Fair, OPM, ODEP, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Department of Defense’s office on Computer and Electronic Accommodations Program (CAP) will provide workshops throughout the day on a variety of topics including the Schedule A hiring waiver and the right to the provision of reasonable accommodations including information on assistive and communications technology.

•OPM will develop training on Schedule A for federal Human Resources specialists, hiring managers and selective placement coordinators that will be easily accessible and includes on line training.

•EEOC and the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division will hold four Town Hall meetings throughout the nation to share information about the ADA Amendments Act proposed regulations and to gather comments on them. All Town Hall meetings will consist of two sessions – one for disability advocates and one for the employer community. These sessions will be completed by November 20th. The four locations are Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, and New Orleans.

•The Department of Justice will release a video that will identify and respond to a number of common myths held by employers about workers with disabilities.

•OPM will create and lead a task force comprised of representatives from key Federal Departments and Agencies that have developed and implemented model practices for recruiting, retaining and advancing employees with disabilities. The task force will report on the innovative practices agencies use to encourage the employment of individuals with disabilities. The report will identify and promote successful practices for conducting outreach, recruiting, hiring qualified candidates, successful accommodations, and providing opportunities for career advancement at all levels.

October 14, 2009 – 3:00 p.m.

The Lupus Foundation of America is proud to present live moderated chats, featuring the nation’s leading experts in lupus. This is your opportunity to ask a question and learn more about lupus from thought leaders in a number of medical disciplines associated with lupus.

The LFA welcomes Ms. Sheri R. Abrams. Ms. Abrams is a Fairfax, Virginia, Attorney dedicated to helping people with Social Security Disability Benefits issues, as well as working with people to prepare Special Needs Trusts, Wills, Living Wills, a Health Care Power of Attorney, or a Financial Power of Attorney.

Ms. Abrams is a solo practitioner in Virginia, whose niche-within-a-niche is in the Special Needs area of estate planning, which requires additional care and experience, to properly understand and meet the needs of the community involved.

Ms. Abrams has received an AV Superior Rating, the highest ranking possible in the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory.

For more information on this webchat please click here.

An Executor/Executrix is the person who oversees the distribution of your assets in accordance with your will. Most people choose their spouse, partner, an adult child, a relative, or a friend to fulfill this duty.

If no Executor/Executrix is named in a will, a Probate Judge will appoint one. Probate refers to the legal procedure for the orderly distribution of property in a person’s estate. The Executor/ Executrix files the will in probate court, where a Judge decides if the will is valid. If it is found to be valid, assets are distributed according to the will. If the will is found to be invalid, assets are distributed in accordance with state laws.

Responsibilities usually undertaken by an Executor/Executrix include:

– Paying valid creditors;

– Paying taxes;

– Notifying Social Security and other agencies and companies of your death;

– Canceling credit cards, magazine subscriptions, etc.; and

– Distributing assets according to the will.