Benefits applications for Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare extra help can be filed by the family, by a free counselor, or by a paid preparer. The choice is partly about time and partly about risk. The risk depends on the form, the office, and whether a decision could be appealed. The money question has a credential question underneath it, and that is where to start.

Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.

Start with free help before you pay

Before you pay anyone, check whether free help covers the form in front of you. Missouri SHIP provides free counseling on Medicare choices and enrollment. Aging Ahead, the area agency on aging, can connect you with local services. The Eldercare Locator, run by the Administration for Community Living, can point you to agencies by county. The goal is to know which form goes to which office, and then decide whether you can carry it yourself.

What a paid helper must be able to show you

For tax help, a paid preparer must have a Preparer Tax Identification Number issued by the IRS. You can look up preparers in the IRS directory and ask whether they hold a credential such as enrolled agent, certified public accountant, or attorney. For Social Security claims, a person who charges a fee to represent your parent must be authorized by the Social Security Administration, and your parent signs a representative appointment, Form SSA-1696. Ask to see the signed form. The SSA reviews and approves most representative fees, so ask how the fee is set and get it in writing before anything is filed.

For help with Missouri benefit programs or any legal question about an denial, ask whether the person is a licensed Missouri attorney, check the Missouri Bar's attorney directory, and ask for a written scope of work that names the forms and offices involved.

Watch for pressure and upfront fees

Be wary of any helper who charges up front to submit a form that is free to file, who says the application is faster with a fee, or who asks for the parent's login details or full Social Security number in a casual message. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau publishes consumer warnings about paid help with government benefit applications. Read them before you sign anything or send any payment.

The do-it-yourself test

Ask three questions. Is the form short and the instructions clear? Can it be filed by mail, online, or in person at an office you can reach? Do you already have the documents it asks for? If the answers are yes, filing yourself is reasonable, and your real cost is time. If the form needs records you do not have, or if a denial would be hard to reverse, the cost of an error rises and paid help becomes worth comparing.

Compare two quotes on the same paper

If you do pay, compare helpers on the same items: credential, scope of work, fee structure in writing, who signs and files, expected timeline, what happens if the claim is denied, and who keeps the copies. Do not compare on who sounds most confident. The paper is what you will be holding if something goes wrong.

Where this stops

Whether to file, what to say in an appeal, and how a fee agreement is enforced are legal questions for a lawyer, and the Missouri Bar's referral service can help you find one. For local starting points, see Local Help With Paying for Care, and for the order in which to read this desk's guides, see Start Here: The Order to Read.

File the Application Yourself or Pay a Preparer: Check Credentials, Fees, and Who Signs