I am the POA for my cousin, but I wish to have the facility she stays appointed as the Beneficiary Payee, so they can handle her monthly disability check. She is on Medicaid and North Carolina's Special Assistance, so all but $66.00 per month must go to the assisted living facility she is staying. They would also manage her $66.00 per month. The $66.00 must cover her out of pocket prescription costs and incidentals. IMO, it makes sense to do it that way.
My question is regarding the details. Right now she has a bank account with a local bank. I want that bank account to stay open so I can' deposit funds in it and handle her affairs that ARE NOT Social Security related. So, once the Facility is appointed the Beneficiary Payee, will the Disability checks go straight to the account the facility has for cases like this OR will they take over her existing local bank account? I hope I made this question clear. I want the facility to handle the Social Security funds in their account and me to handle non-social security funds in her existing local bank account. Is this possible?
What other funds are coming in for your cousin to "feed" her bank account?
If your POA, you could sign her name and then your name and deposit it to your bank account. Then write a check for that exact amount and add it to her personal needs trust account @ the NH. The NH will deposit it and place it in there for you.
Really once they qualify for Medicaid, they are impoverished and there just flat isn't money to ever pay on things anymore. If she has outstanding debt, it's gonna have to go to collections. If she needs new clothes, then you as POA can withdraw funds from her NH trust account to buy things for her. The NH trust account has to kinda be monitored too because it cannot go over the Medicaid limit for assets. So in a year @ $ 66 month, the account would have $ 792.00 in it. It has to be spent occasionally. My mom's NH mails me a trust account statement every 90 days & upon death the balance will be sent to me or my cousin who can sign on the trust account (she lives in the city, I'm out of state) in a check less any outstanding charges on mom's account.
I'm her POA and if she gets a check, I know of no other way to handle it without depositing it into her bank account.
I will double check with her bank, but I think she has free checking with no handling charges. It's one of those no frills banks. They don't even have a ATM outside of their branch, no automated number to get info, etc. It's just a bare bones bank. I'll check though. Yes, you are right about her having no money. I wasn't sure about depositing her check into my account, then depositing into the account at the facility.