Entries categorized as ‘Financial Issues’
By Joe Ponepinto
Many seniors who are healthy enough to stay in their homes, rather than move to a care facility or move in with relatives, prefer to remain in an environment that they know and feel comfortable in. But often these seniors need a little help around the house, whether it’s cleaning, doing laundry, or personal care like bathing. If children can’t provide it, then hiring a service or agency may be an option.
Before you or your parent enters into such an arrangement, there are a few steps to consider to make sure the safety of the senior is not at stake. Here are a few tips for hiring in-home help for seniors. These come from the California Bar Foundation.
- Before talking to representatives of in-home services, assess the senior’s needs to determine the level of service needed. Decide how much you can afford. Then, when you do talk with agency reps, you won’t be as easily persuaded to pay for services that are not needed.
- Seek referrals. If you don’t know anyone who can provide them, visit the local Area Agency on Aging web site.
- Find out if Medicare covers any of the cost.
- Ask many questions. Ask about the agency’s screening and training for caregivers. Do they conduct background checks? Is the agency bonded? Also determine whether the agency is responsible for caregiver taxes and insurance.
- If you or your parent is responsible for taxes (usually if you hire someone independent of an agency), visit your state’s official web site to determine what they are.
- Once a person or company is hired, take precautions in the home to safeguard valuables and important documents. Move them to another location or lock them up. Make sure things like Social Security numbers and bank account information are locked up too.
Categories: Care Givers · Elder Heath · Family Issues · Financial Issues · Insurance · Outside Resources
Tagged: aging parent, assisted living, general, home care, senior care, senior health, senior life, seniors
Submitted by Linda Dunkelberger
Caring for aging parents or loved ones carries a lot of responsibility and a range of emotions. No matter how much love you have in your heart, carrying the load of caring for your loved one will leave you drained physically, emotionally and possibly financially. Coping with the stress of senior home care has to be managed or you will not be an effective caregiver.
Managing the stress of senior home care is all about taking charge. Take charge of your thoughts, your emotions, your schedule, your environment and the way you deal with problems and unexpected situations. The ultimate goal of coping with the stress of senior home care is to achieve a balanced life.
Suggestions to reduce, prevent, and cope with the stress of senior home care:
Senior home care requires organization: Organize your time and your schedule. Write everything down so that you or another family member has reference to phone numbers, doctors, medications, in-home senior care providers, important insurance and financial numbers.
Start a personal journal: Share your feelings about the stress of senior home care. Writing down your thoughts will help you to take charge of your emotions.
Prioritize your health and well-being. Nurturing yourself is a necessary not a luxury. Healthy ways to relax and recharge:
- Go for a walk
- Call a good friend
- Sweat out the tension with a good workout
- Write in your journal
- Curl up with a good book
- Take a long bath
- Eat healthy and exercise regularly
- Play with your pet
- Work in your garden
- Listen to music
- Savor a cup of warm coffee or tea
Give yourself a break: Enlist the help of a professional senior home care provider. These professionals can provide daily or weekly help for everyday chores, errands, hygiene, meals or transportation needs. Some senior home care providers can also provide a respite from your responsibilities with as little as 15-minutes notice.
Coping with the stress of senior home care is the only possible way to be an effective caregiver to your loved ones. Your mental and physical health must take priority or you will not be able to manage what needs to be done.
This article was submitted by Linda Dunkelberger, a freelance writer and editor working for Visiting Angels (www.visitingangels.com).Visiting Angles is a nationwide senior home care provider that helps seniors with everyday tasks, errands, meals, transportation, and more.
Categories: Care Givers · Elder Heath · Emotional Issues · Family Issues · Financial Issues · General Information · Medical Issues · Stress
Tagged: aging parent, assisted living, general, home care, mental health, senior care, senior health, seniors, Stress
Submitted by Richard Hetzler
A Medical Power of Attorney gives one individual the ability to make medical decisions for another person when they become unable to do so. This is an extremely important document to have as a parent ages, since her ability to make decisions for herself about complex medical matters may change quickly.
When my mother moved from Dallas to Chicago she had both a Living Will and a Medical Power of Attorney, issued in Texas. These documents must be in the format of the state in which the parent lives to be accepted. My attorney advised that I should not have both documents, due to the possibility they would conflict. A Living Will can be interpreted by any family member, and they will rarely agree to a single decision. In Illinois the Medical Power of Attorney has a section similar to the Living Will, and it assigns the decision to one person.
In the case of my mother, she was mentally competent prior to being sent to the hospital one Sunday morning. But due to her visual limitations, she would not sign documents without one of her sons present. Since I had the Medical Power of Attorney, it was possible for me to admit her to the rehab facility following her hospital stay. It was also possible for me to begin hospice care when it became practical.
I have heard many horror stories from people who delayed too long obtaining this document. The best advice is to find out how your parent’s state of residence treats this document and to talk about it with your parent before it actually needed.
Categories: Elder Heath · Emotional Issues · Family Issues · Financial Issues · Legal Issues
Tagged: advocate, aging parent, doctor, Legal Issues, medicine, senior care, senior health, seniors
December 8, 2009 · 1 Comment
Take Steps Up Front to Prevent Disputes
This article was written by Kate White, Executive Director of Elder Law of Michigan. Although it addresses seniors and their families in Michigan, similar occurrences are taking place throughout the country.
The poor economy in Michigan is forcing many families to consider moving in together to save money and provide care for older adults. According to USA Today, US Census Bureau statistics released in September, 2008 reveal a significant rise in the number of parents who live with adult heads of households. From 2000 to 2007 the number of senior parents living with their adult kids rose from 2.2 to 3.6 million—an increase of 67%.
In some situations, senior parents move in with their adult children, in others the arrangement is reversed. Occasionally seniors share a home with other relatives such as nephews or grandkids. And sometimes seniors move in with other seniors, or even non-related younger persons.
While there is often great benefit in having others live with a senior, especially if the others can act as caregivers, disputes can arise even in the best of circumstances. Here are some things to discuss and place in writing before moving-in day.
- An emerging practice is to use a paid professional mediator or a community dispute resolution center to discuss expectations and record what is agreed upon before making an arrangement to live together.
- Discuss the house rules and the expectations of the owner about visitors, noise, standard of cleanliness, use of drugs and alcohol, privacy, use of space, and the use of furniture, cars and other items. Clearly define the acceptable and unacceptable and set a process for discussing new issues.
- If there is an expectation of service for the privilege of living in someone else’s home, the details of the trade need to be clearly laid out. This can be a very important for preserving the self esteem of the tenant and prevent misunderstandings by all involved.
- Future claims. Sometimes when another person moves in with a senior, an expectation is created that the tenant will be able to stay in the home forever or that the homeowner will leave the home to the tenant when the owner dies. Avoid this misunderstanding by making it clear that the homeowner retains all ownership of the home. A later wish by the homeowner to give the home to the caregiver can be taken care of at any time.
- Prevent isolation. Just because an older adult may now have someone in the home, social activities and contact with neighbors, friends and family remain important. Friends and family should regularly check in with the senior.
- Finances. In addition to deciding and documenting who pays for what, it might be worth considering having someone outside the household provide money management or bill payment services if the senior needs help with those tasks. If the caregiver is chosen to handle the homeowner’s financial affairs, having a second set of eyes reviewing the bank records, checking accounts and expenses might be advisable.
While sharing a home can be a comforting solution for seniors, living with another person requires planning and preparation. For help with such planning, consider contacting the community mediation center nearest you. Call 800-8RESOLVE.
Persons in Michigan can call the Legal Hotline at (800) 347-5297, Monday through Thursday, 9-5 and set an appointment to have a lawyer call them back, usually the same day.
Categories: Care Givers · Elder Heath · Emotional Issues · Family Issues · Financial Issues · Moving Your Parent(s) · Safety
Tagged: advocate, aging parent, home care, Legal Issues, move, moving, senior life, seniors
December 5, 2009 · 1 Comment
Submitted by Carol Hetzler
The elderly are often targets for scammers looking to con someone out of their savings, and if the person has Alzheimer’s, dementia or another mentally-debilitating situation, they can make disastrous decisions that can severely impact their finances.
My mother, in a lonely state of mind after dad had Alzheimer’s, started playing the lottery through the mail. At one point she received a phone call from Canada, claiming that she had won the lottery, but had to send $5,000.00 before the prize could be awarded. She wrote a check to a person in a foreign country. When I realized what she had done, I had the bank issue a stop-payment. But my mother went to the bank on another day, withdrew funds from her account and had a cashier’s check issued to the same individual. Once I discovered this, I had a police report filed, but the funds were lost and no fraud conviction was ever possible.
Another time, my mother received a check for $12,000, with a note indicating that she had won the lottery. She took the check to the bank, and deposited it into her account. Her elation ended the following day when the bank called to inform her that the check was not valid, so her account would be debited. We obtained the check, and discovered it was merely an advertising gimmick, with small print along the edge saying, “Facsimile only.” This print was far too small for someone who was 80 to read, and even I had difficulty reading it, as did the bank teller.
Scammers and false advertising are like diseases affecting the elderly—they can be just as dangerous financially as cancer is medically. Children and caregivers should take an active role in managing their aging parents’ finances, to make sure they are not taken advantage of.
Categories: Care Givers · Emotional Issues · Family Issues · Financial Issues · Safety
Tagged: aging parent, finances, senior care, senior life, seniors, subscriptions
November 22, 2009 · 1 Comment
By Joe Ponepinto
Recently the House of Representatives voted to include a long-term care benefit in the pending health-care legislation. The Senate is still debating whether to include that option. Whatever they decide, a federal program would likely only cover part of the cost of long-term care for most people. That means the decisions about whether and when to purchase this coverage are still up the individual.
Long-term care insurance requires policyholders to pay premiums in advance of them needing a long-term care facility. Premiums vary widely depending on the insured’s age. According to Consumer Reports, a plan that costs a 50-year-old $1,625 annually will run a 60-year-old $3,100 and a 70-year-old $7,575. So it might seem that purchasing earlier would save money, and many insurance agents encourage people as young as 40 to buy at a lower monthly cost. But consider that you can’t actually use the policy until you qualify for what is defined in the policy as “long-term care,” which for many people isn’t until age 80 or beyond. That means up to 40 years of premiums, or more, with no return. Although there’s no perfect age to begin coverage, some experts say 60 is a good time to start. But also remember that it is harder to qualify for a policy as you get older. One out of four 65-year-olds flunk the physical; at 75, it’s one in three.
Whether you need it or not is another matter. Currently, average nursing-home costs for a semiprivate room are $198 a day, while home health aides get $21 per hour, according to a survey from MetLife Inc.’s Mature Market Institute. (A pdf file of the survey is here.) Those rates are bound to go up. The federal benefit being discussed would pay only $75 per day, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The costs can deplete an average person’s savings very quickly. Personal and family health histories can be factors in determining when you might need this benefit, but no one can predict this with any accuracy.
If you do decide to purchase long-term care coverage, one of the most important aspects to weigh is what, exactly, the policy considers to be the qualification for long-term care. Policies vary widely in what they will pay for. Many only pay 50 percent for in-home care, so at $10.50 per hour it adds up fast.
A federal option for long-term care would eventually change how much insurance each person needs, but it probably won’t eliminate the need to carry some additional insurance. It’s good to understand the options no matter what the government decides.
Categories: Care Givers · Elder Heath · Family Issues · Financial Issues · Insurance · Outside Resources
Tagged: aging parent, assisted living, finances, Insurance, senior care, senior health, seniors
One of our readers has submitted a guest column regarding his experiences with Medicare. The names have been withheld by request.
My mother was never very affluent. So when it came time for her to move into an assisted living facility for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, she was not financially prepared for it. Eventually, we had to turn to state Medicaid for assistance, but we were very surprised at the restrictions imposed on her finances.
In our state, at the time my mother applied for assistance, a person could have no more than $1500 to her name in cash and assets. Since my mother had more, we (believe it or not) had to sell off all her assets and give the excess to the state government for use in paying for Medicaid. The excess, and any income she had, including Social Security, was to be used first to cover costs before state help kicked in.
We were lucky in that her living facility had staff who were very helpful in navigating the state’s legal system. Other facilities may not be as prepared. But we realized while it was happening that my mother was essentially becoming a ward of the state—not that we expected her to recover, but in effect she no longer had an independent future.
In retrospect, we could have tried to have her “gift” the excess assets to her relatives (up to the federal tax-exempt limit) before applying for Medicaid, but even that strategy is difficult, since in our state, Medicaid looks back three years to figure net worth, to ensure the person is cognizant enough to understand what she is giving away. Who can say three years before Alzheimer’s care is needed that it is inevitable?
Think carefully about your parent’s future. It’s much better to be prepared for the possibility of having to use state Medicaid than to have to deal with it suddenly, as we did. If a long-term care insurance policy is an option, you should investigate it.
Keep in mind that Medicaid, although a national program, is also governed by individual state law and the requirements and services vary from state to state, sometimes greatly. But the best advice, if you anticipate that your parent might need it in the next few years, is to learn as much as you can about the program where you live, and prepare your parent’s finances so s/he gets the most help for the least impact.
Categories: Financial Issues · General Information · Insurance
Tagged: finances, Insurance, Medicaid
November 16, 2009 · 1 Comment
Despite the downturns in the housing market and the economy in general, one segment of the real estate loan industry that continues to grow is the reverse mortgage market—up 37 percent in 2008 according to Consumer Reports. In their advertising efforts, reverse mortgage lenders sometimes make these deals look like easy money for seniors. But there are many considerations that potential borrowers, and the adult children who help care for them, should be aware of before signing any paperwork.
The principle behind a reverse mortgage is simple. Seniors in need of money—to pay for medical expenses, mounting bills, to maintain a lifestyle; almost any reason is accepted—can borrow against the equity in their primary homes. But a reverse mortgage is not like an equity line of credit, in which the deal is based on income and the borrower must begin paying the loan back immediately. Instead, the lender pays the homeowner the equity in either a lump sum or regular payments, and no payment against the loan is due until the borrower(s) no longer use the home. When that event occurs, however, whether through the death of the borrower(s) or moving away, the loan becomes due in full. Usually the borrower(s) or their heirs pay off the loan with the sale of the home.
The good news is that even if the borrower(s) lives another 30 or more years, no payments are due and they get to stay in their home all that time. If that is the case, the value of the home will probably have gone up significantly and the loan balance will be no problem to pay off.
But if the borrower(s) pass away or move after only a few years, it could create a financial hardship. Here’s why: Reverse mortgages are very expensive loans, with many up-front and ongoing fees. The up-front fees can be included in the loan, but then they continue to accrue interest. Again, according to Consumer Reports, the up-front fees like mortgage insurance, origination fees and closing costs average about $15,000 on a $300,000 home. Another $15,000 in costs comes from ongoing insurance premiums and service fees. If the borrower(s) haven’t stayed in the home long enough for the value to go up, then they won’t have the means to pay the loan plus interest. Figure this means staying in that home for 10 years at least, but that doesn’t even include the possibility of a real estate devaluation, such as we are in now. People whose reverse mortgages have become due in the last two years may be having a very tough time paying them—that includes heirs who become responsible for their parents’ estates.
One particular scam to watch out for is unscrupulous reverse mortgage lenders who convince senior couples who have an age difference to apply for the reverse mortgage under the name of the older spouse only, to make it easier to qualify, by taking the younger person’s name off the title. But if the older spouse dies, then the younger one is left with the bill, and no claim to the home. Another scam caregivers should monitor is financial advisers who convince seniors to take equity money to put into “sure thing” investments. If the investment doesn’t work out, the borrower(s) still has to pay off the loan.
Considering the potential problems such an arrangement can cause, it’s best to be very, very careful before entering into a reverse mortgage. There are many online and local resources that can help you make a decision, and we recommend consulting a variety of them before moving ahead. Be careful about online sources, though. Many reverse mortgage lenders masquerade as unbiased sites designed to “guide” visitors to an informed decision about the product, but their information is often overwhelmingly one-sided about the benefits of reverse mortgages. If the site contains a “reverse mortgage calculator,” or a link to apply for a loan, chances are they are in the business of selling reverse mortgages and therefore their information is biased.
We especially urge children of senior parents to remain involved in their parents’ finances to guard against unnecessary spending and bad deals.
Categories: Family Issues · Financial Issues · Insurance
Tagged: aging parent, finances, home equity, Insurance, investments, mortgage, moving, real estate, reverse mortgage, senior care, senior life, seniors
By Lisa Cochrane
I recently was told about a creative solution that a friend used when his aging mother could no longer drive. George’s mother lived in an assisted-living facility and she loved the independence and freedom that came with driving herself to doctor appointments and on errands. But George was worried, as he could tell her eyesight and reflexes weren’t what they used to be. When she had a small accident, he was finally able to convince her to give up her keys.
George then decided to sell her car and put the money into an interest-bearing account. He contracted with a local cab company to have a taxi available for his mom whenever she needed it, and instead of billing her, they sent an itemized statement every month to George (including a 20% gratuity). The cab company agreed to use only three drivers so his mom could get to know them. The drivers also agreed to carry her packages and groceries to the door and wait for up to a half hour at her destination.
It was a perfect solution to what could have been a difficult problem. George’s mom still had the freedom to go when and where she wanted and George didn’t worry nor need to take time off work to get her to doctor appointments. His mom even became the hit of the assisted-living facility — especially after she started inviting others to join her on her trips to the local department stores, the grocery and even the theater. Having a taxi available allowed them to venture out to more evening events and dinners.
The money in the interest-bearing account and the savings from not paying for car insurance, gas and upkeep paid for all the taxi rides. His creative solution also kept his mother safe and actually gave her a different kind of freedom — she could now bring along new friends and they could enjoy themselves without the worry of driving home!
Categories: Emotional Issues · Financial Issues · General Information · Safety
Tagged: assisted living, Driving issues, finances, Independence, Safety
Submitted by Carol Hetzler
Many businesses that rely on subscriptions use sales techniques that, while legal, are not completely ethical. When parents begin to age, they sometimes forget this fact and wind up paying for subscriptions they don’t need or use.
Most magazines start sending renewal forms as early as a year before payment is needed, and several times thereafter. When faced with such requests, my parents would view them as invoices and return each renewal form with a check for payment. When we started looking at their magazines there were more than they could possibly read, and many subscriptions were paid up for the next five years. We spent some time canceling duplicate magazines and those that were never read.
There are many other businesses that operate this way. Others to be especially watchful for are those that note that they will renew the subscription automatically, charging the credit card given for payment. Examples of this are book and music clubs, wine clubs and many magazines. Unless membership is cancelled, it continues to renew.
Occasionally businesses send products that are not ordered, and charge you for them if they are not returned immediately. My parents believed these items sent to them were free, and kept them. When we became aware of the situation, there were closets stuffed with unopened product boxes, and charges were about to go to collection agencies. Like many adult children, I was too far from my parents’ home to keep close track of such signs.
The best course for children who care for aging parents is to, at some point, take a complete inventory of all subscriptions, clubs and other membership to which they belong, and determine when each expires or renews. Cancel those that are unwanted in writing, and make notes about what’s been paid and when for the rest. You can save your parents much money and aggravation if the subscriptions are managed in advance.
Categories: Family Issues · Financial Issues · General Information
Tagged: finances, general, senior life, subscriptions
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