Spending down assets for Medicaid
cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)
14 years ago
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cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agosushipup1
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
Another question about depleting assets
Comments (58)Falldown, there's no need to apologize for anything. We're all sympathetic to your situation. This has been a really good discussion. You can tell from all the responses that there are several opinions and also some mis-information. It's important to think ahead about these things and do adequate research. That's why so many of us harp on getting qualified legal counsel. The Medicaid laws can be confusing, to say the least. And you need accurate information -- not 2nd or 3rd hand stories. It's also important to remember every person's situation is unique. What works for one family may not work for another. And situations change and require new perspectives. There are all kinds of options available for elder care -- aging at home with the help of aids, assisted living facilities, moving in with a family member, board & care homes, skilled nursing facilities, memory care facilities, continuing care facilities, etc. Sometimes a loved one ends up using two or more of these options. Each family struggles to make the best decisions for their loved ones. None of this is easy. But all the options require finances of some sort and all of them have legal implications. That's where planning with an attorney and financial advisor come into play....See MoreCan we get both VA and Medicaid ??
Comments (7)I am not sure about this as I did not have to "start from scratch" with my brother as he was getting his VA benefits in Ill. However when I tried to do anything for him with the VA they said they needed to talk with my brother. Well I went round and round because my brother has Parkinson's and some days just cannot project his voice. Finally I got a woman who understood and gave me her "private line" to call when I was with my brother. I did, all she asked my brother was to verify his SS number, which he did with my help and then she asked if it was okay for me to handle the details. However, I can tell you before all of that I got so darn many forms from the VA I could not make heads or tails out of them! I would think there are other alternitives to paying someone to fill out the forms. Contact your local Elder Care services and see if they can direct you to some help. Even calling the VA itself and asking for direction in filling out the proper forms might help. I can tell you that company will not get priority treatment, the VA does not work that way, your forms will be dealt with when they get to them. Send them registered mail to force them to sign for them, then you have proof of when they arrived. Do you have an assisted living place already picked out? If so ask the social worker there to help you, that is what they are there for and if they want to be paid they will help. Make a few more phone calls before paying that kind of money. Also, make sure you have all discharge papers in order and make copies! Call your local VA office and ask them what forms you need and if they can help you....See MoreMy husband is addicted to spending
Comments (12)Thanks to all for your thoughtful and heartfelt responses. I think I already knew that at least one of us needed counseling; maybe it took hearing it from "strangers" to finally make the deicision to do so. I control the checkbook, pay the bills, etc. I show him each month how much our regular expenses are in a vain attempt to get him to realize that we are spending more than he brings in each month. While he seems to understand the concept of income vs. outgo, it makes no difference to his spending. He keeps telling me that when "we" retire, his air force pension and 401(k) from his workplace, plus social security, will give us plenty of money. I've run the numbers, and it's true - IF he can stop spending so much! It was also very helpful to hear someone say I was being an "enabling doormat". I always knew I was being a doormat, but the addition of the word "enabling" was startling - and so true. Gives me more incentive than ever. Even when you understand the reasons behind someone else's addition (and I understand very well why he does this), it's hard to deal with. Thanks again to all!...See MoreIntro and Spending/Budget Catagories
Comments (13)Thanks for your thoughts, Gibby. :-) I was working on this last night, and making decisions about what to lump together in more general catagories, vs. what to spread out (basically, what I wanted to be able to track later). One of my dogs was just diagnosed with a medical problem that will require monthly meds for life, so I wanted to track those separately from standard vet visits, etc. And some of my groceries are for the dogs rather than us humans, so I wanted to separate those out too, to get a clear picture of thier food budget vs. ours monthly. I think I ended up with more specialized catagories than I'd really thought I would. I created two different catagories for Entertaining vs. Entertainment - because we throw at least one large party and several smaller ones every year, and I wanted to track how much we actually spend on those events, exclusive of things like renting movies & going to shows, etc. So I broke them down into fairly detailed sections. Already I've been using the Pocket Quicken - haven't even synced it with the desktop yet. Our desktop PC is in our office, and I rarely have more than 10 minutes in the morning to check my email...that's about all I look at it per day (today, I made some extra time to check newsgroups, but that's rare even on weekends). But my PDA is always with me - including when I'm sitting in my living room chair being a couch potato after work. This morning I already put in our vet expenditures for the day, and a "cash deposit" to me from my hubby to get to the end of the month. ;-)It's not that I mind bookkeeping, I just want to be able to multi-task...ie, watch TV while I'm doing it, etc. And with it on my PDA, I can enter transactions on breaks at work too...not have to wait until I get home to enter them. I still use checks for most things - my debit card has a daily limit that is okay most of the time, but just frustrating the rest of it, so I just prefer to not hassle with it and use checks instead. I have duplicates so I don't have to keep track right when I write the check - I balance my checkbook online a couple times per week (usually at work on breaks). I rarely have cash...a few times per year at best. I spend it much more easily than if I'm writing a check or using my credit/debit card, for some reason. ;-) The company my husband works for was just sold (closing on the 31st), and we had a bit of a panic in the last couple of weeks thinking he would be looking for a new job (he has just about 3 months of salary stashed away, but still, not fun). He's decided to stay with the new company for awhile, but I'll admit that part of my wanting to get things in order is just "in case" he ends up looking for work in the near future. Like you said, I want to be able to know exactly where we can cut costs if need be, from one month to the next. But I think I'm on the right track! I have a few more catagories I'd like to add, and obviously I can tweak it a little in the coming weeks, but for now it's set up, and in use. I feel way more "in control" of everything now, and I think this will really be a good way to figure out exactly what I spend on "what" every month. Hopefully I can use the budget feature later to put more money towards paying off our loans/CC's too. We're not doing too badly, but I'd feel better if we were doing "better". :-) Thanks again! Jamie...See Moreraee_gw zone 5b-6a Ohio
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agomaime
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agobuttoni_8b
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agomama22doxies
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agofranceymargaret
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agojayokie
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agojayokie
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoCA Kate z9
11 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
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