When people first think of Social Security disability they think of the injured factory worker or coal miner who is reaching retirement age and can no longer perform his/her physically demanding occupation. But there is a whole other group of disabled persons in America who struggle with the sometimes invisible problems of mental health issues. These people suffer from a range of issues, including depression, anxiety, schizophrenia and mood disorders, just to name a few. For those suffering from these conditions, working a full-time job ranges from difficult to impossible. That is why the Social Security Administration allows people suffering from mental health issues to receive disability benefits if their condition is severe enough to prevent them from working.

According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), as of 2011, 19.2% of people who qualified for disability were awarded benefits for mental illness. Winning benefits for mental illness can be difficult; you are not presenting the SSA with MRI’s or surgery reports. To be successful on a mental illness claim you have to craft a case that uses your medical record to illustrate to the decision maker at the SSA that you are unable to work. This can include reports from your therapist documenting that you are not able to attend work on a regular basis due to mental illness, or documenting that you are unable to deal appropriately with supervisors or customers.

To be awarded Social Security disability benefits, you have to compile medical records and reports from treating physicians to illustrate your condition. If you would like additional assistance, at LaBovick Law Group your claim will be handled by an attorney who will review your facts, meet with you personally and create a unique theory of the case for your claim. That attorney won’t get paid unless you are awarded benefits.

If you live in South Florida, you have noticed the expansion of residential communities extending westward past the Florida Turnpike. Palm Beach County has grown exponentially since the 80’s, and highly concentrated populations now live west of the Florida Turnpike in many areas. It is my contention that the 1985 Growth Management Act (GMA) and Palm Beach County’s Comprehensive Plan, because of the strict transportation concurrency requirements imposed on land developers, are fighting against one of the main goals of proper development planning – preventing urban sprawl.

Urban sprawl occurs when contractors build developments spreading outwards of the heavily populated urban area to the outskirts of town where there is a low-density population. These low-density population areas rarely require developers to meet extensive concurrency mandates and therefore make their venture more profitable. As Eric Kelly’s Transportation Concurrency & Sprawl article explains, by lowering the concurrency standards it is likely that Palm Beach County can reduce the amount of urban sprawl that is occurring, while at the same time give land developers an incentive to improve older developments within the city limits.

As America attempts to climb out of recession, it is important for the government to facilitate growth in as many ways as possible. By lowering concurrency standards, Palm Beach County will be positively contributing to our country’s economic revitalization. It is my opinion that Palm Beach should adopt less stringent concurrency requirements for land developers. Although it may seem counterintuitive, this suggestion can reduce urban sprawl, protect Florida natural resources west of the turnpike and increase the quality of developments in the inner city.

LaBovick Law Group is dedicated to the pursuit of environmental conservation as well as helping individuals foster positive legislative change with respect to these topics. Our legal presence in the South Florida community for more than two decades shows our concern for the long-term well-being of our community.

In my niche practice, I often run into other attorneys in the community that have never met a Social Security attorney before. I hear the same story over and over again: They tell me that someone walked into their office looking for a Social Security attorney, but they didn’t know where to send him.

I also hear stories of personal injury clients or medical malpractice clients that needed to apply for Social Security disability benefits, their current attorneys told them they didn’t handle that type of law, so the clients ended up getting assistance from one of those big national companies. Unfortunately, I regularly see that these large companies are just mills, and they often mess up these applications.

Florida attorneys, if you wouldn’t send your client to a doctor in St. Louis, Missouri or Washington state, why would you send them to a company practicing Social Security in those places? With a local Social Security attorney, clients are familiar with the doctors they will be sent to, and more importantly, they know the staff at the local Social Security Administration office, in case they need additional assistance throughout the process.

Also, when a local attorney handles a Social Security claim, that attorney will have the opportunity to get to know the claimant. He will then be able to tailor a specific theory of the case instead of printing off a boiler plate motion and hoping it results in a successful application.

Do you need assistance apply for Social Security disability benefits? Are you an attorney with a current or past client who needs help, but you don’t know where to send them to? Make sure claimants get to a local Social Security attorney. Even better, all our fees on contingency based. This means that the local attorney cannot charge the client any fee unless that person is awarded benefits.

Living in Florida, I have become an avid fisherman. Being just a few miles from the Gulf Stream, Southeastern Florida allows for the opportunity to target some amazing fish life. By far, my most exciting adventures have been billfishing. The unparalleled speed and power of these fish have made it ideal for recreational fishing. Although recreational billfishing is primarily the idea laymen imagine when thinking of these magnificent fish, billfish are most often caught accidentally in commercial tuna and swordfish longlines. In fact, the tremendous amount of billfish caught and killed every year as a consequence of commercial long line fishing efforts has put extreme pressure on billfish populations. This result occurs even though there are no commercial fisheries that target billfish in the United States.

In 1988, the United States attempted to curb the effect longliners were having on billfish stocks. In the Fishery Management Plan of 1988, the US banned the commercial harvest and sale of the Atlantic-caught billfish. However, this only created a black market on billfish for commercial fishermen by claiming their billfish were caught in the Pacific. Although this was a good place to start, effectively managing the catch levels of billfish internationally is the only way to alleviate the problem.

Recreational billfishing along the coast of the United States is a $2 billion a year industry. After all the efforts from government environmental agencies and private conversation groups, the industry is still facing a significant threat from commercial longline fishing.

These conservation groups need to keep pressure on the politicians and continue intensive research, so we can understand how best to protect this important resource. Only with accurate data can the appropriate pressure be levied on politicians to pass additional conservation legislation such as the Billfish Conservation Act of 2012 (Billfish Conservation Act of 2011, 112th Congress, 1st Session, H.R. 2706), which became law on October 5, 2012. It is crucial that the general public is aware how economically valuable the sportfishing industry is to our area and everyone’s contribution to the cause is essential.

Resources:
http://www.savethefish.org/

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/FMP/BILL_FMP/Total_Billfish_FMP_1988.pdf

A recent decision by the Florida 4th District Court of Appeal affirmed a lower court order of contempt for a support-paying party not obtaining life insurance as had been previously ordered. Florida's divorce code contemplates judges ordering parties to obtain life insurance for support obligations. However, a question has always arisen as to whether such a requirement can be enforced through contempt, which contemplates jail as part of its definition.

When a person who is ordered to obtain life insurance to cover a support obligation fails to do so, the ruling now makes it clear that contempt is an option, even if the support paying party tries to argue that they are no longer eligible for life insurance. In that situation, the payer can be required to deposit into the registry of the court funds equal to the required life insurance.

Obviously, situations where that can be done are rare, but it is always an option for a savvy party to propose to a judge during a contempt hearing. At LaBovick Law Group we have a dedicated department that seeks to enforce support orders through collection proceedings and/or contempt, so never hesitate to contact us if you have similar questions.

Yesterday marked the further extinction of our 4th amendment rights. The United States Supreme Court ruled, in a split 5 to 4 ruling, that a person arrested for any crime may have their cheek swabbed to take their DNA as part of the routine booking procedures. The high court ruled that the taking and cataloging of DNA was on par with taking an arrestee’s fingerprints.

The case came from a Maryland felony assault arrest. The person arrested for a felony had his cheek swabbed at the arrest site per Maryland law. The DNA collection was entered into a state database and came back as a match for an unsolved rape. The defendant ultimately pled to a misdemeanor assault but was sentenced to life for the rape. Had the defendant been charged with misdemeanor assault, his DNA would not have been collected. The defendant moved to suppress the DNA in the rape case on the grounds that a judge did not order its collection, and the charge he was ultimately convicted of was not a charge that would trigger the swab. With this ruling the court has sided once again with law enforcement and data collection allowing police to swab everyone that they arrest without the consent of a judge and without a conviction.

Currently those convicted of crimes in Florida are swabbed, but this ruling opens the flood gates allowing for everyone who comes into contact with the criminal justice system to be entered in the database. For more on this ruling see http://www.palmbeachpost.com/ap/ap/crime/court-police-can-take-dna-swabs-from-arrestees/nX9YZ/.

I am sure you have also heard on TV or read in book when an aggravated parent has threatened to disown or disinherit a child. Of course, many times these threats are idle and just used as a means to reprimand improper behavior. However, I’ve met with some good parents who have become so heartbroken over consistent egregious behavior of a child, that they have actually questioned the legality of disinheritance in Florida.

It’s a great question. Without being proactive and designing a well-thought estate plan, your estate may end up being distributed by the Florida laws of intestacy. In simple terms, without a valid will/trust, the estate of the deceased will pass to the children if there is non-surviving spouse.

There are few caveats to be aware of with respect to disinheriting. Remember, Florida is extremely conservative when it comes to financially supporting your child. So, it should not come as a surprise you cannot disinherit a minor or a child that is provided for by a pre-existing contract such as court order in a divorce settlement. Also, do not be misled into thinking that you can just add a “no contest” clause to your will/trust. This type of verbiage attempts to punish an existing beneficiary in the estate plan for contesting the document. In Florida, these types of clauses have been declared unenforceable due to public policy.

If you are currently designing an estate plan, be aware that Florida law presumes a decedent would want his/her child to inherit. Be sure to effectively overcome that presumption. Your estate plan must use plain language indicating an intention to fail to make provisions for that child. If you are expecting to receive an inheritance, mind your manners... If you have a child that isn’t minding his/her manners, consult with your estate planning attorney to develop the right plan for you.

If you have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and you are no longer able to work, you may be able to receive Social Security disability benefits to take care of yourself and your family. To qualify for Social Security benefits under the listing of Social Security Administration disabilities, line item 11.06, Parkinson’s disease.
You will need to show that you experience:
• significant rigidity, bradykinesia (slowness of movement) or tremor in two extremities (such as both legs, or an arm and a leg), that result in
• prolonged movement difficulties (including both movement of your limbs and smaller hand movements) or an abnormal rate of walking.

If you do not meet the above requirements, you may qualify for Social Security disability benefits if you are no longer able to work due to your Parkinson’s disease systems. This is under the vocational standard. To qualify under the vocational standard, you must be younger than your full retirement age. In general if you are more than 50 years old but are younger than your full retirement, you may be eligible for Social Security disability benefits.

To apply, you can either apply online or contact your local Social Security Administration office. Since disability cases involving Parkinson’s Disease are extremely fact-intensive and require detailed medical evidence, it is important that you speak with a qualified Social Security Attorney to explain the benefits that you are entitled to and to explain the Social Security process.

If you are thinking of applying for disability or if you have recently been denied, the disability attorneys at LaBovick Law Group are available for free consultations.

I get asked this question so often: Is putting an IRA in a revocable trust an appropriate maneuver when funding the trust? The answer is NO.

Let’s just think this out a minute. When you fund a trust you need to re-title the asset in the name of the trust. Here’s where the problem lies. When you re-title that IRA in the name of the trust, the “Powers that Be” will consider that maneuver a 100% withdrawal from the IRA account. So, what does that mean? That means that 100% of your IRA will now be taxed as part of your income in the year of the withdrawal. You have now defeated the main purpose of funding that IRA all your life. I always urge my readers to consult an expert estate planning lawyer when making trust decisions, but if you decided to venture out on your own on this point, I hope your IRA custodian was smart enough to give you the proper advice.

There is an easy way around this problem. Instead of re-titling the IRA in the name of the trust, just make the trust the beneficiary of your IRA upon your death. Some of the legal rules associated with this maneuver are quite precise, but nothing your lawyer can’t handle. Passing down your IRA through inheritance from a trust is a great way to continue the tax-deferred benefit that the IRA affords, but do not forget... Make the Trust the Beneficiary, Not the Owner of the IRA.

An appellate court has recently affirmed the application of Florida statute 489.128 to a lawsuit involving an unlicensed contractor. Obviously, most people would prefer to deal with a licensed contractor because they know that some type of investigation and licensure approval has occurred. Yet, for many people, the attraction of having a lower-priced contractor do the work is too much to avoid.

Fortunately, the Florida legislature has passed a law that forbids unlicensed contractors from filing liens or lawsuits when they are not paid. This statute does not prevent a homeowner or customer from suing the unlicensed contractor, it only prevents unlicensed contractors from getting paid.

Buyers Beware!
Dealing with unlicensed contractors can end up costing you more money in the long run. If you are the recipient of bad or incomplete work, suing somebody who probably doesn't have anything to lose to begin with will only cost you more money.

By far, the most critical part of an application for Social Security disability benefits is the medical documentation. This is important for two reasons:

First, if the claimant has continued to treat for several months or years, it establishes that the claimant is truly sick and in real pain. With your doctors records, you can prove to the Social Security Administration that you have suffered from Lupus since 2010, for example, or that you had a spinal fusion in 2011 and your pain continued, etc... The medical evidence is the foundation upon which your application is based.
Second, comprehensive medical documentation allows the patient the best chance of recovering and returning back to normal life. We all know that medical treatment can be expensive without insurance and that continuing treatment after losing your job may not be possible.

For those circumstances, the Social Security Administration will send applicants to the association's own doctors for what is called a Consultative Examination. This is not ongoing treatment but a one-time evaluation by in hopes of medically documenting your condition.

No matter how much medical documentation you have, your case needs to prepared by a professional who can make sure that all of the relevant evaluations are completed. If you have been denied for Social Security disability benefits you can call the attorneys at the LaBovick Law Group to help you receive the benefits you are entitled to.

Having a will to dispose of assets is only the beginning of a well-thought out estate plan. Combining the advantages of a will, a revocable trust, a durable power of attorney and a living will is the best way to achieve your post-mortem asset distribution plan goals.

Below you will find some specific definitions and important points about living wills that will prepare you for your meeting with a Florida estate planning attorney:

What is a living will?

A living will is a legal document that a person uses to announce his or her wishes regarding life prolonging medical treatments when he or she is unable to communicate those wishes. The Florida living will is also known as an advance directive and is an extremely important document with substantial legal significance.

What is most important to include in a living will?

It is crucial that your living will not only includes directions for others to follow with respect to life prolonging measures but also includes the name of someone who can make healthcare decisions in the event of incapacity. Both aspects of a living will are necessary because generally, the life prolonging directions will only be followed when the patient is in an end-state medical condition. This leaves open the situation where someone may not be in the end-state but nonetheless, cannot competently make medical decisions.

Why should a living will be shared with others?

Once your attorney drafts your living will, it must be signed and filed at the attorney’s office. It is also very important to share the document. Providing a copy to your family, your physician and your close friends will ensure that someone you know will have access to the document in the case of your incapacity.