Power of Attorney - Responsibilities

[Son1]

Hi. A question from Ohio.

My father is a private pay resident in a nursing home after being cut by his
insurance. He is mentally competant and can make decisions, but
has lost the use of his legs and has cardiovascular disease.
He is dependent on others for his care.

The expectation is that he will spend down his savings over
the next few months and then I will apply for medicaid on his behalf,
since he is physically unable to go to the interview.

I am told I need to bring a power of attorney to the interview.

My father may sign the power of attorney but in reality he
does not want me to make any financial decisions with his money.

Currently I go though his mail with him in the nursing home and he writes out checks for the bills he wants to pay and he ignores the ones he doesn't want to pay (mostly medical bills that insurance didn't cover). He figures he'll be broke in a few months so he'd rather spend the money on other things.

My question is if I get a Power of Attorney, will I then be legally responsible
to manage his money and give priority to his debts (despite his objections).

Can I get a limited Power of Attorney where he continues to be the sole decision maker / responsible party and I just sign for him because he can't physically be there. (which is how he wants it).

Can we limit the power of attorney to only being used in the interview process to transfer his assets to Medicaid?

I wish I could convince him to pay off his debts, but he sees no incentive.
I don't know how this issue will impact me or him in the future.


Thanks for any advice or answers.

 

[BlondiePB]

Hi. A question from Ohio.

My father is a private pay resident in a nursing home after being cut by his
insurance. He is mentally competant and can make decisions, but
has lost the use of his legs and has cardiovascular disease.
He is dependent on others for his care.

The expectation is that he will spend down his savings over
the next few months and then I will apply for medicaid on his behalf,
since he is physically unable to go to the interview.

I am told I need to bring a power of attorney to the interview.

My father may sign the power of attorney but in reality he
does not want me to make any financial decisions with his money.

Currently I go though his mail with him in the nursing home and he writes out checks for the bills he wants to pay and he ignores the ones he doesn't want to pay (mostly medical bills that insurance didn't cover). He figures he'll be broke in a few months so he'd rather spend the money on other things.

My question is if I get a Power of Attorney, will I then be legally responsible
to manage his money and give priority to his debts (despite his objections).

Can I get a limited Power of Attorney where he continues to be the sole decision maker / responsible party and I just sign for him because he can't physically be there. (which is how he wants it).

Can we limit the power of attorney to only being used in the interview process to transfer his assets to Medicaid?

I wish I could convince him to pay off his debts, but he sees no incentive.
I don't know how this issue will impact me or him in the future.


Thanks for any advice or answers.

Spending down to qualify for Medicaid is fraud. We don't assist posters with crimes.

 

[Rose]

Read this again

Spending down to qualify for Medicaid is fraud. We don't assist posters with crimes.

Sorry, but I don't read anything illegal in this post (except maybe letting some medical bills go unpaid).

If Nursing Home and regular bills don't qualify, what does? Maybe the term "spend down" isn't used correctly, but I think I understand. He'll use his personal finances until it's gone and apply for Medicaid.

Please re-consider your answer.

 

[BlondiePB]

Sorry, but I don't read anything illegal in this post (except maybe letting some medical bills go unpaid).

If Nursing Home and regular bills don't qualify, what does? Maybe the term "spend down" isn't used correctly, but I think I understand. He'll use his personal finances until it's gone and apply for Medicaid.

Please re-consider your answer.

Once the poster explains transfer of assests and what are the assests, I would be glad to reconsider and deal with the POA problem.

 

[mspanzertanker]

Have you tried asking for a telephone interview for your father with the Medicaid office? I have known that to happen here in Fla for pts in the hospital who are not able to get to the Medicaid appointment. It is worth asking. This way your father would be able to maintain control over his finances.

 

[Son1]

Maybe I am using the term spend down incorrectly. What I mean is that
my Dad is spending his savings and they are going down to zero.
As soon as they are close to zero I will apply for medicaid, for which I
need to bring a Power of Attorney to the interview.

He has about $12K left and gets about $1K a month in Social Security.
The nursing home costs $5K a month. He has about $5K in unpaid
medical bills which he is ignoring. He'd like me to spend his
savings on a motorized wheelchair and some other items before he is broke.

The nursing home wants me to apply for his admission and sign some
"paperwork"...I think they also want me to have Power of Attorney.

These are the facts.

I don't want to do anything illegal or that would jeapordize his medicaid
application.

I'm just asking for advice of how to proceed and what to beware of.
I wish he could be in charge since he is super critical of anything I or others do.

If I must have a Power of Attorney I'll do it, but I'm just wondering what I'm getting into, as he approaches and maybe slips into debt before the medicaid kicks in.

Thanks.

 

[BlondiePB]

Maybe I am using the term spend down incorrectly. What I mean is that
my Dad is spending his savings and they are going down to zero.
As soon as they are close to zero I will apply for medicaid, for which I
need to bring a Power of Attorney to the interview.

He has about $12K left and gets about $1K a month in Social Security.
The nursing home costs $5K a month. He has about $5K in unpaid
medical bills which he is ignoring. He'd like me to spend his
savings on a motorized wheelchair and some other items before he is broke.

A motorized wheelchair is a perfectly legitimate expense. Has the nursing home approved the use of a motorized wheelchair in their facility? Residents "on motorized wheels" can be a disaster and danger to others.

The nursing home wants me to apply for his admission and sign some
"paperwork"...I think they also want me to have Power of Attorney.

Because your dad is competent, have him sign those papers. You signing them can make you legally responsible for dad's expenses. Only your father can grant you a POA and even POA's do not sign things correctly leaving themselves responsible. At this moment, dad does need medical POA for medical decisions. Your dad can also grant you a limited POA to deal ONLY with Medicaid.

I don't want to do anything illegal or that would jeapordize his medicaid
application.

I'm just asking for advice of how to proceed and what to beware of.
I wish he could be in charge since he is super critical of anything I or others do.

If I must have a Power of Attorney I'll do it, but I'm just wondering what I'm getting into, as he approaches and maybe slips into debt before the medicaid kicks in.

There are companies that provide non-emergency transportation for those that are not amublant enough to be transported in regular motor vehicles. Dad can go to his own Medicaid appointment this way if he wants to go. You need to also get him to an attorney to draft Durable POA, medical POA, and update any other estate documents (i.e. will) while he is competent to do so. Some Elder Law attorney will make house calls. If dad wants to handle his finances even after granting you POA to do so, let him until he can no longer it.

Thanks.

You are welcome.