|
If they do sign everything over to me is there a time limit between the time of
sign over to the time of being placed in a nursing home before questions are
asked as to their wealth?
QUESTION: I am looking for some advice or help. My parents are both in their late
70's. Both are in very,very poor health. At this time it appears that my
father will no longer be able to take care of my mother and she may have to
be placed in a nursing home. My father is in such poor health that his life
span is not expected to be very long. I am the only child and I feel that
some sort of action should be taken in order to protect both their financial
assets as well as their property. They do not have much, but what they do
have I do not want them to lose. Any suggestions as to how a plan can be
created that will protect both as much of their assets (money/home) as
possible and what type of gov't benefits they may be eligible for. They live
in N.J., I am from AL. I was thinking that maybe they should sign
everything over to me and I could control what they have from my end. If
they do sign everything over to me is there a time limit between the time of
sign over to the time of being placed in a nursing home before questions are
asked as to their wealth?
ANSWER: I had a similar situation with my widowed father in the 1970s. At first,
I just helped him with his financial affairs, but I ended up taking over
everything in the end, and I had to sell his property in another state
because I couldn't properly maintain it from a distance. He lived
with me and my husband as long as possible before we placed
him in a local nursing home where I could visit once in a while.
I would not recommend you trying to manage money and property in
New Jersey from Alabama. If it were me, I would much prefer to bring
my parents closer to me so that I could keep an eye on them up close
and personal. I would suggest that you have a heart-to-heart with your
parents about this, and that you talk to your local social agencies about
state and federal benefits to which they may be entitled. I would assume
that they are now currently receiving Social Security and Medicare, so
this should be the place to start -- at your local Social Security office.
If your parents are willing to relocate to Alabama, you will, of course,
have to sell their New Jersey property and use the proceeds to set
them up somewhere in your area. Then, if there are sufficient funds,
you might consider hiring someone to come in and help them out
with housework and stuff. I would not put either one of them in a
nursing home until it is really necessary, and even then, it might be
wise to place both of them at the same time so they would still be
together. Before you do this, though, check all the state laws to
be sure you are following proper procedure. Needless to say,
you're going to need a good, honest lawyer to help out with all
this.
There are a number of sites on the World Wide Web dealing
with elder care issues, and I suggest you do a Yahoo! search
on terms like 'elder care' and 'senior citizens', and check out
some of those sites.
|
|
|
|
