When SSA issues a decision favorable to the claimant, SSA will approve a fee agreement
that meets the statutory requirements of the Act and is not otherwise excepted, even
if the claimant's mental capability (i.e., the claimant's ability to manage his/her
funds) is at issue.
In these situations, SSA defers authorizing a fee until resolving the capability issue
and, if appropriate, until selecting a representative payee for the claimant. This
protects a potentially incapable claimant's right to request administrative review
of a fee by sending notice of the fee amount and of the right to request administrative
review to his/her representative payee.
SSA assigns high priority to claims requiring a determination of mental capability
and selection of a representative payee. SSA should decide most cases when it issues
the notice of favorable decision; therefore, this policy will not unduly delay the
fee authorization.