Bottom line for attorneys: check to see if your client has delinquencies with the federal government as an initial part of your calculus whether to accept representation for a federal court appeal.
How do you do that? Here are the folks to call:
Quote:
Debt Management Services (DMS)
Financial Management Service
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Phone: (202) 874-3810
Fax: (202) 874-7494
Contacts: Debt Management: Programs and Systems: Financial Management Service http://fmsq.treas.gov/debt/contacts.html (last visited Mon Jun 14 2010 12:34:55 GMT-0500 (CST))
Will the feds go after court-determined unpaid child support, delinquent school loans, unpaid judgments? I don't know the answers for the specific facts for your cases. Here's a link to help with that kind of research: http://fmsq.treas.gov/debt/questions.html _________________ David Traver
Attorney
Traver & Traver, S.C.
P.O. Box 459
Eagle, WI 53119
262-594-2096 (work)
david[at]traverlaw.com
Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2010 05:43 pm Post subject: Need Congressional Action
I've thought all along that we would need Congressional Action to fix this.
Hopefully, SSA will continue to pay EAJA directly to the attorney when there is no federal debt and the claimant assigns EAJA fees to the attorney.
As to the Debt Management Services, do you need to get the client to make the inquiry or will they release this information to a third party with an authorization?
See updated posting above for the release form and contact information.
By the way, putative corrective legislation that puts attorneys in the position of EAJA applicant would be a mistake. Drafters should take care to look at the $2,000,000 net worth limitation of the EAJA. Some of attorneys in this field would be out of the EAJA business if they were required to prove a net worth of less than $2,000.000 in the filing an EAJA application. _________________ David Traver
Attorney
Traver & Traver, S.C.
P.O. Box 459
Eagle, WI 53119
262-594-2096 (work)
david[at]traverlaw.com
Read page 10 of the decision. SSA Policy is to allow such assignments if there is no debt.
Quote:
And as Ratliff admits, the Government has since contin
ued the direct payment practice only in cases where “the
plaintiff does not owe a debt to the government and as
signs the right to receive the fees to the attorney.” Brief
for Respondent 28 (boldface deleted). The Government’s
decision to continue direct payments only in such cases is
easily explained by the 2005 amendments to the TOP, and
nothing about the Government’s past payment practices
altered the statutory text that governs this case or es
topped the Government from conforming its payment
practices to the Treasury Department’s revised regula
tions. For all of these reasons, neither EAJA nor the SSA
supports Ratliff’s reading of subsection (d)(1)(A).
_________________ David Traver
Attorney
Traver & Traver, S.C.
P.O. Box 459
Eagle, WI 53119
262-594-2096 (work)
david[at]traverlaw.com
Checked a client's debt today. He thought he was $12,000 in the hole to the Treasury, and he was wrong. No debt there.
Process:
Fill out form FMS-13, on your computer, print it, have your client sign it: http://www.fms.treas.gov/debt/dmconsent.pdf
Fax signed form to 205-912-6383
Wait 72 hours
Call 800-304-3107 tunnel down through the automated menus and you get a human.
During tax season, answer that you are a tax preparer to get to a customer service rep.
Enter the nine digit SSN of the claimant.
Wait for the human to answer
Tell the human the SSN
If there is no debt, the claimant's SSN will not be on their system. Rejoice!
If there is a debt, you will get the bad news. Sadness.
It is easy and fast, to the extent that anything that takes 72 hours is fast. _________________ David Traver
Attorney
Traver & Traver, S.C.
P.O. Box 459
Eagle, WI 53119
262-594-2096 (work)
david[at]traverlaw.com
It still rings as a fax. I used that number last month with good results. It took longer than 72 hours, however. Faxed on Monday, started calling on Wednesday, finally was able to ask questions on Friday. If the government shuts down on Friday, you should have an answer by Christmas. _________________ David Traver
Attorney
Traver & Traver, S.C.
P.O. Box 459
Eagle, WI 53119
262-594-2096 (work)
david[at]traverlaw.com
I used it last week. Faxed on Wed. the form was on file by Monday afternoon. Learned that client had a debt to state dept of revenue which feds had been asked to collect.
I have a client with a significant tax debt. He told me he worked out a payment plan (small monthly amount due to his poverty). When I checked the Treasury, the debt was not showing as something that would be collected from the EAJA. So, we began the action. This is exactly the scenario mentioned by Justice Sotomayor, and argued by the SSA in Ratliff.
This may be an important work-around for our clients. Rather than turning down the case, we may wish to ask the client to work out a payment schedule with the Treasury. Whether this could be done in time to prevent the offset at the end of the litigation, and whether it would work in cases other than my example, are unknowns. _________________ David Traver
Attorney
Traver & Traver, S.C.
P.O. Box 459
Eagle, WI 53119
262-594-2096 (work)
david[at]traverlaw.com
Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 08:37 pm Post subject: Fee Agreement payment
This is not an EAJA question. Instead, we have a possible client set for hearing who has a large child support obligation. I checked with the FMS and they indicated that they will collect the debts from federal payments.
His debt is large and will exceed his past due benefits. I assume this means that all past due benefits will be taken and that there will be no past due benefits available for payment of a fee. In other words, just like EAJA, the fee is not exempted from seizure.
Checked a client's debt today. He thought he was $12,000 in the hole to the Treasury, and he was wrong. No debt there.
Process:
Fill out form FMS-13, on your computer, print it, have your client sign it: http://www.fms.treas.gov/debt/dmconsent.pdf
Fax signed form to 205-912-6383
Wait 72 hours
Call 800-304-3107 tunnel down through the automated menus and you get a human.
During tax season, answer that you are a tax preparer to get to a customer service rep.
Enter the nine digit SSN of the claimant.
Wait for the human to answer
Tell the human the SSN
If there is no debt, the claimant's SSN will not be on their system. Rejoice!
If there is a debt, you will get the bad news. Sadness.
It is easy and fast, to the extent that anything that takes 72 hours is fast.
I called to check one today, and the process is now fast and automated. No need to speak to a human if you have faxed in the release form well in advance. _________________ David Traver
Attorney
Traver & Traver, S.C.
P.O. Box 459
Eagle, WI 53119
262-594-2096 (work)
david[at]traverlaw.com
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