Divorce to get help from state

[anonymous]

Does it seem that the Divorce rate is higher in families with cf children or is it just me. Im to the point that the only way i can get help from the state is if im divorced, the state told me we make $50. to much a month so they cant help. but theres families that dont try to work or help themselves and can get everything the state has to offer. I JUST DONT GET IT . they would not take into account any medical bills for 2 sons w/cf . Im looking into filing bankrupcy because i cant pay my bills, but the junkie down the street get ssi and drives a new car.. Im sorry to go on and on but it just makes me made how the system works

 

[Mockingbird]

Yeah, it's frustrating. They have all these unmovable rules and requirements so no one can take advantage of the system, but they don't take into account things like people who have CF. I was turned down once because my parents made too much money. Even though I wasn't living with my parents, it didn't matter. I asked them straight if it made a difference that I had CF, and they gave me a flat out no. I guess that's better than them jerking me around, telling me they'll consider it and just put me at the bottom of a very large pile, but it's still really stupid.

Jarod
22 w/cf

 

[thefrogprincess]

My parents seriously considered divorce so that we could get on SSI as kids. If you make only $50 too much go to your employer and see if you can take an extra full or half day off once or twice a month so that you make a little less. Explain the situation, I can't imagine many employers having a huge issue with this.

 

[anonymous]

What kind of assistance are you trying to get? Are you trying for food stamps, cash benefits, housing assistance??? Please let me know and I can try to offer some specific advice, especially regarding food stamps and housing assistance. Do they say you are over income for SSI for your children as well?

Julie (wife to Mark 24 w/CF)

 

[anonymous]

Tell me what kind of sense this makes.

I get Disability and applied for food stamps. Well I was allowed a whole $10 dollars a month. When asked why even bother, I was told that I got $20 too much a month. I said how come you can't take $20 away but give me more food stamps? It doesn't work that way. So I asked, what if I have to move and pay rent? That was the magic ticket I thought. So I "moved" to my parents house and started "paying" rent. $200 a month. Foods stamps go up. $200 you ask? OH NO, $90 a month. Pay 200 to get 90. What kind of crap is that? Maybe if I was hooked on crack and had 10 kids I could drive a new car and have money thrown at me by the government.

 

[ClashPunk82]

Julie I would love info about housing assistance. My boyfriend and I would like to marry but don't know how to since I will lose my SSI and he doesn't make enough to support us both. Any help you could give me would be great! Thanks!

 

[Emily65Roses]

The country just really likes sticking it to us sickies, don't they? <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-disgusted.gif" border="0">
Oh you're sick? And you get SSI? Well you can't get married.
ARRRRGGGGGG

 

[ClashPunk82]

I know tell me about it. I mean I can't have kids I can't travel I can't work and now I can't get married. It's so ridiculous!

 

[Mockingbird]

No, you can get married; it's just for some reason they figure after a Cfer gets married they won't need financial help anymore... Um, makes perfect sense, right? =-) Maybe they believe in the marriage fairy, who exchanges money for sex. Oh, Wait! That's the tooth fairy I'm thinking of, and teeth, not sex.

 

[anonymous]

Anonymous at 838, do you have any expenses (medical) that are over $35 a month? I ended up taking the Food STamp administraition of Washington and the Food stamp administration of California to court so they would allow our extra food expenses as a medical deduction for purposes of qualifying/recieving more $$ money a month. Reason being that Food stamp (FS) rules SPECIFICALLY exclude "special" diets, but I argued that there was nothing "special" about marks diet, the only thing that varied between his an another persons is the AMOUNT. And since the food stamp handbook failes to describe EXACTLY what they mean by "special", the dictionary definition must be used. Therefore, a judge in WA and CA ruled that there is nothing special about the diet, and since the IRS allows the CF (additional) food expenses as a tax deduction under MEDICAL, we could use them as medical deductions every month. I am going to scan the WA and CA decision to a PDF file tomorrow, so if you are interested in seeing it, you can email me at division902@hotmail.com

<a target=new class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/applicant_recipients/fs_Res_Ben_Elig.htm">http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/applicant_recipients/fs_Res_Ben_Elig.htm</a> Visit this website if you haven't already. It gives you income qualifications, the type of deductions you are allowe and how they figure out your allowable deductions. Someone who recieves a disability payment or has a disability (every state has criteria about what is a disability-in CA you have to be recieving state disability or work disability) is also entitled to an uncapped rent expenses. Someone without a disability has a limit on how much rent they can deduct (300 something). Would your parents be willing to say that they charge you more than $200 a month? They would probably have to create a lease (even if it is fake) to take in and prove how much you pay. Visiting this site might help "explain" to you why when you said you pay $200 in rent, your benefits didn't go up $200. There is a formula for how they figure it.

Julie (wife to Mark 24 w/CF)

 

[anonymous]

Nicole, I forgot to mention, check out www.hud.gov then look around on your state. They provide housing assistance-section 8, TBRA program and other such things. You should be able to find a # to your local housing office and get more state specific inforamtion from there. I would recommend applying ASAP as there are usually long waiting lists. Let me know if you have trouble getting information, and what city and state you live in and I'll try to help out. Just email me at division902@hotmail.com or I might forget.


Julie

 

[anonymous]

Be careful about checking into the government side of stuff before you divorce. My husband and I looked at it as an option because I lost health-care coverage when his income increased, but divorce wouldn't help us unless we actually moved out from one another and had separate addresses and accounts and stuff. The state is looking more carefully at these kind of"common-law" living situations and will count the income of people you are living with or that assist you in paying your bills. Be very careful about this.

I also suggest calling Beth Sufian. She's a lawyer with CF and she does lots of work helping people with CF. She has a hotline for people with CF to call. You can get her number from your clinic probably or maybe you can look it up online.

The living situation can be tricky. When we lived with my dad, we had to prove that he wasn't paying any of our bills for us and that we were paying him rent in order not to lose my SSI (or SSD, I can't remember which one is income-based) and Medicaid. Please check very carefully about how your living arrangements and financial situation will affect your government status. A divorce may or may not help you and it would be very sad to go through everything to get the divorce and have it not benefit you.

HollyCatheryn
26 w/ CF
Mama to Murren (3 w/o CF, born at home, breastfed)
www.geocities.com/MurrensNatureMama for information and links on Fertility, Pregnancy, Childbirth and Breastfeeding for Adults with CF

 

[anonymous]

Is it possible to ask your husband's employer to reduce his pay just enough to get you under the income level required?

We looked into that. Or if you are working, you could try to reduce your income by just enough to get under.

My social worker has also suggested that any work I do be paid in cash. Cash doesn't show up in a paper-trail the way that checks do. It is not very forthcoming, but when the system is punishing you for working, what is best?

We didn't feel good about not reporting income, but that was because of our personal convictions. So, we just try to keep our income under the level, where possible.

HollyCatheryn, again

 

[anonymous]

My wife and I are going to divorce legally only to qualify for benefits and alleviate her from the financial burden left from my medical expenses. Also, if the medical debt isn't in her name then she will be able to buy a house where we can live as husband and wife under God. We will maintain separate mailing addresses to make everything official. Screw the state, screw the system. Why do we have to bear all these superfluous burdens when others are given an easy path to rip-off the system, particularly illegal aliens?

I read that this guy in Mexico went up to Phoenix, received an expensive (>$120K) surgery, the state paid for it of course, and went back home, while the illegal never paid a dime. And here I am paying for my meds, virtually broke because the system doesn't accommodate legal or natural born citizens, much less those who have a catastrophic illness.

I am mad as hell and I am not going to take it any more!!!!!!!!!!!

Ben
34 w/CF

 

[anonymous]

AMEN!

(and best of luck to you)

 

[Purplelungs]

Right on Ben!
I know what your going through.

 

[anonymous]

Amen ben. My husbadn just completed a report on illegal aliens for his final english class-the statistics are amazing. 3 billion dollars a year of UNREIMBURSED medical expenses attributed solely to illegal aliens, 192,000 females participated in a "pregnancy coverage" benefit in the year 2004 which costs the state of CA over 2 million dollars..... I could go on, it makes me want to vomit. Good for you Ben.


Julie (wife to Mark 24 w/CF)

 

[JazzysMom]

Before I was married & was looking into WIC etc, I was told my "household" income was too high. At the time I worked at our local hospital & with the person who did Medicaid applications. If anyone knew a loophole it would be her. Her answer was for me to kick Robert (my now husband & father of my daughter) out. I refused & struggled without the extra help. Even now that I am on Social Security there tends to be a reason not to be married. When we file our Income Tax return, the % of my Social Security that can be taxed is based on the "total household income". The first year we had no idea what to expect so we had a substantial (1/3) of my Social Security withheld under the voluntary federal withholding option. It works out great for us. If my husbands income goes up we still gave that amount from my Social Security to play with at tax time. Of course it means less in my monthly checks, but we adjusted our budget accordingly. I definitely feel the current system doesnt give incentive to be married. It most certainly doesnt for the "working/middle class" families that fall in that not quite enough to make it on their own & too much for assistance category.

 

[WinAce]

As someone who can't get married himself without losing health coverage--and, with CF, dying as a result--I sympathize with everyone here. And let me just say it impresses me greatly that, while droves are being forced to divorce in order to survive, politicians are obsessing about how gay people being allowed to wed will harm the institution. (Those asshats sure do have their priorities straight...)