My 93-year-old mother has been scammed twice. She doesn't know how much money she has in her account except what bank tells her. She can't write and has others in assisted living write her checks. She has stock, but is not aware of how much. Are my brothers and I responsible to take care of her if she runs out of money?
You should probably enlist the help of a certified elder care attorney to guide you and you should definitely get that checkbook and any credit cards out of Mom's hands and out of the facility.. pronto.
Generally, unless your last name is DuPont, when a parent runs out of funds, the family applies for Medicaid. A few things to be mindful of re: Medicaid.
* It can be a long tedious, paper intensive project (bank statements for 3-5 years, etc).
*There is usually a 5 year look over the shoulder which means no extravagant gifts to the children or grandchildren. Some of that scamming that she is subject to now may count which is why you are going to gallop to the facility and grab that checkbook!
*Not all facilities take Medicaid as that payment is much lower than their regular charge. You need to find out now if her current facility will take Medicaid and if they will guarantee her a bed if she goes on Medicaid. I say it that way because many facilities will allocate a small percentage of their beds to Medicaid recipients but if those beds are filled when a long time resident needs one.... well the long time resident is just out of luck and needs to find another accepting facility. In my senior health career I have seen this happen so many times I lost count.
Wishing you good luck and peace in this journey.
"Sadkid22
3 hours ago
Renee,
Depends on the state your mom lives in. Some states have a requirement that children must financially support their parents if the parents are financially insecure. Google your question and the list of states will be available. I know PA has this rule, but NY does not. Good Luck."
Unless anyone co-signed any contract with Mother, no one is responsible for paying for her care. No State anywhere should force a family to pay for her care. What happens if family has no money to pay? Force mother to go to a family home or worse yet, be sent to the street? So inhumane! That is what Medicaid is for, to resort to financial assistance when her funds run out. The time to see an eldercare attorney is Now!
Patathome01