Can anyone help me with this, according to florida law? Basically my father owns a house, 40k in the bank and his only income is social security. That is all. He needs assisted living help but refuses to go to a retirement home. He is 81 and has the early stages of alzheimers. He can not drive or bath himself. Thank you for any help you can provide!
2006-11-09 08:26:12 · 5 answers · asked by The Sheep Dog 4 in Business & Finance ➔ Personal Finance
This is a Long-Term Care issue. You need LTC if you need assistance with 2 of the 6 Activities of Daily Living for a period of 90 days or more, or if you suffer from an organic brain impairment, like Alzheimers disease. ADL's are: dressing, bathing, continence, transferring, toileting and eating.
If he had LTC insurance, the insurance would pay for ALL of this and preserve his assets.
I was going to suggest Long Term Care insurance, but because of the Alzheimer's he wouldn't qualify. People should buy LTC insurance when they are HEALTHY.
President Bush signed the Deficit Reduction Act last year. Now if you have more than $2,000 in savings or investments, you don't qualify for government assistance for LTC. If he has 40k in the bank, he doesn't qualify for government assistance which is basically welfare.
If he gifts the money away, because of the Deficit Reduction Act, he will have to wait 5 years before he qualifies for government help.
He is on his own.
I suggest talking to a Reverse Mortgage professional and getting money out of the house. The only drawback to a reverse mortgage is when he dies, his heirs will have to pay the money back.
Unfortunately by the time most people find out about this new law its too late for them. A lot of us are going to experience this situation with our aging parents and grandparents.
While people were busy arguing about immigration and all the other B.S., they haven't been paying attention to some of the new laws that are now in place that benefit BIG BUSINESSES like insurance companies.
I wish you and your family the best.
2006-11-09 09:50:12 · answer #1 · answered by tina m 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋
I can't answer the financial part, but I can give you a shoulder to lean on. I wish you all the luck in the world in this endeavor. My mother was/is the same. It was very difficult to get her and my father into assisted living. My father has passed since. He just refused to take care of himself, etc. Hang in there!! I finally got a prescription for Prozac!!
2006-11-09 16:40:07 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
1. He needs to assign power of attorney to someone he can trust. That person can then take care of his assets when he no longer can, as well as make medical decisions for him.
2. It may be time to forgo what he says he wants and get him into a nursing home or assisted living center. There comes a point when you simply cannot stay by yourself anymore and lots of seniors resist that, but it would be safer for him.
3. As far as his assets go, it will cost a lot for him to be in assisted living. His assets will go fast. While I am sure there are ways to protect his assets, the one that immediately comes to mind is to give his assets to whoever he was planning on leaving them to now and going to a facility that takes medicaid. Then he can live off of all those years of taxes he paid and leave his family something.
2006-11-09 16:36:33 · answer #3 · answered by Phoenix, Wise Guru 7 · 0⤊ 5⤋
Setting up a trust ..and getting as much power over his affairs asa possible will help a lot.
Btw, while a person is young enough he can buy LTC coverage for later years.
My mom bought LTC 20 years ago, and has been paying $200
/mth since, for future use of $88/day coverage.
I am on the verge of getting LTC for wife & me both and we are 48, and will be paying $200/mth for us to get $100/day each of us.
Point, get LTC while young, because LTC gets very expensive later. My mom recently tried to upgrade, but it was too expensive to do so. She is stuck with what she has now.
Mine will include upgrade riders.
Mom & wife&I share the same agent on LTC.
2006-11-09 18:09:50 · answer #4 · answered by pcreamer2000 5 · 0⤊ 4⤋
He needs to make out a deed of trust for the realestate and a trust for his personal belongings, also a power of attorney for healthcare decisions. DO NOT MAKE A WILL, that could tie things up for 10 years and the house will rot to the ground before the state gets around to setteling the will. I have just seen it happen. If you care for him at all. You will get a friend and take care of him in his own home and when he goes everything goes immediately to whomever he left it to in the trust without touching probate court otherwise probate court will tie it up for years and years.
2006-11-09 17:23:32 · answer #5 · answered by dean-propps@sbcglobal.net 2 · 0⤊ 5⤋