I was recently on Gather and saw the following advice about keeping copies of all the forms Social Security Sends you to fill out.

Make sure everything is consistant the whole way through all of your paperwork and conversations. Keep copies for yourself and document all conversations with representatives you talk to, also. …. And yes, they do read all of the forms. That is why I am saying that you must be consistant the whole way through. It is all logged in and if you have to go before a judge he goes over all of it, too. He will actually refer to certain sections that were filled out, etc.

This is spot on! I have seen this happen many times. If you say something at your hearing that is inconsistent with your answer on a form, the judge may call you on it.  Or worse, the judge may find that you are not credible.  One of the main purposes of hearing is to let the judge see you in person and make a credibility assessment.  And, if the judge does not think you are credible, well… that is not good for your case.

If you can, it’s useful to have an a lawyer read over the forms and point out inconsistencies and show you how your words may be misinterpreted at your hearing to mean something completely different from what you intended.

photo credit: ®ominitä