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My Mom does not have a Living Will. She has a POA,-my brother- an Advance Medical Directive, a DNR order, and a Will. My name and my brother. Mom is in the hospital and rehab w/ a broken hip. She will hopefully go back to assisted Living once she can walk again. She is 88. I am trying to figure out her finances before she dies and was told that if my name was on her checking account her money would be safe from the courts and we could proceed with her wishes outlined in her Last Will & Testament. I want to make sure I am doing the right things to keep her estate out of the hands of lawyers and courts.

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Thanks for responding. As soon as soon as my mom died - the house automatically belongs to myself and 3 siblings. This was due to a lady bird or quit claim deed signed by my parents a few years ago. Apparently in Michigan , the house is not part of her estate therefore she doesn't have one. I am the executor of her will. The only "assets" she has was about $ 600 in a savings account that is also in my name. My intention was to use that to pay utilities until we sell the house. Once it sells, the first thing to be paid is the mortgage. The home equity is not connected according to her mortgage company. From what you're saying it sounds like the credit union would say otherwise.
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Auntiem, did she have a Will naming you Executor? That is the person who settles the bills. So you take the Will and the death certificate to the bank.
I find it odd that "she has no estate" but she has a house with a loan on it. That does not make sense. The home equity loan is now due in full when the borrower dies. The Executor has to sit down with the lender and discuss a "short sale" of the property.
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My mom died a couple of weeks ago. The attorney said she has no estate. My name is on her checking account and I want to use the money to pay outstanding bills. Is this allowed ? She does have a credit card and a home equity in her name only. Thank you
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DS, is she not capable of handling finances now due to cognitive issues, or has she always mismanaged money? If it is cognitive issues, she may need more care in the near future and you may need to start planning for that.

Some ways to do it are to negotiate with her to run all expenses by you first if she might cooperate and remember the agreement. If not, try to get a financial POA and change her bank account so that it does not permit ATM or debit card overdrafts. You may be able to set up online access to her account and do the right things with it, such as moving most of her money to a different new account that bills can be paid from, and do not give her that new checkbook; you really should not do that as if you were her unless you have that POA. Or, if she is really incapacitated, you may be able to go to the social security office and get representative payee for her Social Security check and set that up into a different account where you can transfer funds as needed. SS office does not depend on your POA alone, you have to get the rep payee. Guardianship is an option if those sorts of things do not get things under control.

If you have zero cooperation but she is not deemed incapacitated, you have to get sneaky. You can report her debit card lost or stolen as long as you could intercept a new one that they would mail her. I just started doing my mom's bill paying, at first with her "supervision" then just by reassuring her we had taken care of it for the month already, and collected my mom's QVC and another shopping card at one point, and she never said anything about them to me. (She was too proud to admit she'd lost anything - yes, I took advantage!) I felt bad but otherwise she would fall for charity scams, and would buy endless supplies of Wendell Forge pewter trinkets plus chocolates that were "gifts" that she'd, um, forget to give away - it was better for her diabetes for me to buy her sugarfree and keep her candy dish full.

Keep good records, and do everything with as much respect and love as you can, but set limits and recognize what she can and can't realistically manage any more. It is not easy, emotionally or practically, and there is not one right way to do it that will work for every situation; it may not hurt to have a financial advisor or estate planner help you navigate it all.
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My mom has bounced checks consistently for over a year now. By the time she gets her monthly SS check she is at such a minus that it just snowballs into the next month. I want to put money her account this month and start her fresh. But she won't stop writing checks, paying stuff over the phone with her debit card and drawing case out of her account, all of which like a domino affect, puts her in a minus for the following month. She has no assets or income other than her SS check. With very strict monitoring she can make it. I want complete control of her checking account and give her an allowance every week to live on. How can this be done?
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Sorry for your loss!! If you are executor, you would typically carry out Mom's wishes as expressed in the Will. You might want to make him a gift form your inheritance if it is substantial but I guess that would depend on all the circumstances! Legal help if in doubt is worth it.
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my mother died and i am on my mothers checking account I have a brother not listed in will .what are my legal responsibilites to him ?
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Find an attorney that knows about Recovery. Every state is different. If a person is on Medicaid, any bank account is considered theirs, even if you put money into it jointly, it is considered a gift to them. If they are applying for Medicaid any joint account is considered theirs. When they pass, Recovery has first rights to their assets.
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KdClark, The guardianship ends when mom dies. Then the Will becomes effective. The Executor must distribute assets according to the Will. You need to read the deed and see how the property is titled. If you are joint tenants with rights of survivorship, no problem. If you don't see the words "rights of survivorship" on there, then her portion or percentage of the property goes to probate along with the rest of her estate.
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My wife has guardianship over her mother which lives with us. Hospice is in our home and she may live a few more months. My mother and law has lived with us for 15 years and we bought a house that her name is on the deed. When she dies will it be a problem to take her off the deed?
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My wife has guardianship over her mother which lives with us. Hospice is in our home and she may live a few more months. My mother and law has lived with us for 15 years and we bought a house that her name is on the deed. When she dies will it be a problem to take her off the deed?
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FamilyConcern, add the POA brother as a signatory only. Do not make him as joint owner on the account or else it WILL affect his credit score. Take away Dad's debit and credit cards. Do a credit check on Dad to discover all the credit and loan accounts. Also consider getting a good medicare supplement for Dad during open enrollment in November. That will lower his co pays.
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I need help understanding how the bank works. My dad is Stage 4 cancer. My siblings and I are discussing about my dad's only asset which is his Soc Security and his pension. We delegate my middle brother to do the POA to his bank. My dad have a bad habit of withdrawing $600 every month to gamble it away. Although his medicare only pays 80% of his radiation therapy and other med expenses but Dad have to pay the out of pocket cost of 20%. We want to control his spending so we can pay for his therapy, bills (credit cards), and other loans he took out. His bank said that if my brother attached his name to my dad's checking account, my brother's good credit will be ruined due to the fact my dad did a lot of withdrawals to his account; hence the overdraft fees the bank charged my dad. I just want to understand if this is true, that his good credit will be affected. Please help
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my mum wants me to add my name to her account in case anything happens to her,how straight forward is it to do.
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bbutvidas, all their assets count. Do not attempt to move money out of their names, all that will get you is a rejected Medicaid application.
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I am on my parents checking and savings account. My stepfather may require to go into a nursing home and we have had to apply for Medicaid. Can Medicaid use this account as an asset since my name is on the account? We live in the state of AZ.
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Good advice, but not what I expected. My name is on my mom's checking and savings accounts along with her name. I didn't make these arrangements, but a well-meaning friend of the family did after my Dad passed away eight years ago. I think the reason was to protect her assets from my brother, whose wife was a spendthrift. I am going to meet with an elder law attorney soon, to discuss possible LTC finances for my Mom, and maybe he can shed some light on this issue.
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How can my wife get her name on her grandfathers trust her mother is on the trust she passed away know what do we do? She needs her name on the trust she's executor of her mothers estate. Her mother is on the trust of her grandfathers. He passed away. 40 years ago and she always continued to take care of his bills. What can we do?
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The POA document won't say if a will is no longer valid. POAs and wills are two separate things that have nothing to do with each other. If the person sells the house and has a joint bank account with her daughter, then the money belongs to the daughter when the person dies. The main consideration there is if the daughter is truly a joint owner of the account and not just someone authorized as a signer.
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If someone as a will and then goes and get a POA. The POA documents say any previous will is now no longer valid. Person sells her house and opens a joint bank account with daughter, mother dies who gets the money.
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2diffy, your friend is probably not a lawyer and could be mistaken. You need to find out if you will be liable for anything in regard to the reverse mortgage; there would presumably be a lien if you try to sell, and again, assuming your mane is not on the deed, best to keep that money for her care; with it being a joint account, yes you can access it and use it but beware of any Medicaid concerns for "gifting" if that is likely to be needed. You probably should get representative payee status for your Mom's social security checks and take pains to see that the money is spent for her needs - it would probably be ideal to keep that account separate and have nothing go into it except her SSI check. The $2,000 is an asset limit (beyond home if they intend to return and one car) that you have to spend down to before qualifying for Medicaid. It is true that life insurance proceeds are not subject to any estate recovery.

Seriously - this stuff is complicated and varies a bit state to state - so one totally legit expense that you can and should pay for from mom's money is for an elder law consultation. I found one who clearly knew the ins and outs of my state's Medicaid via info on his website, and a $300.00 initial consultation with him was a huge help.
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Sorry for the typos since I was using my dragon to do the typing and I didn't catch it but the wheel means will. I hope you can make out the rest
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I have been on both of my parents checking account since 2007. They both have separate accounts due to my moms Independence. I also am POA over their trust. My father has died recently and my mother has severe dementia requiring 24 / 7 care. I have fought hard to keep her in her own home with a caretaker butt that was before she became so bad. What I don't know is my dad get a reverse mortgage on their home. I was told by a friend who has gone through being a POA and trustee and she told me that since I can withdraw money from the bank and the statement show my name on them that the money actually belongs to me. They did not include her really old car or they're checking account in the trust. I did have to take some money out for funeral expenses Etc and they treated me just like I was my parent. I would like to close out my dad's account and withdraw the money and any extra money my mother has in her account but leave it open for her too receive her SSA deposit. I do worry about her because she is severely not in her right mind. The wheel of my father left everything to my mother and her will left several items in the house of hers two different members of the family with anything left over I guess from selling the house to be split evenly with my brothers and sisters. My question is can I take out the money legally and is it mine like my friend said. My second question is should I close all of the bank account down since I am afraid I can be held accountable. I read somewhere that an insurance payout for life insurance is not taxable. I do need to hold on to the money because at this point she's so out of my mind that she loses any money I give her and is not capable I pay her bills and everything. I have a doctor's letter saying that she is not able to do all those things and needs 24/7 care. A nursing home told me that I could just remove that money since it's mine and that would be necessary because if she had to go to a home they would only allow her to keep $2,000 to qualify and of course they would take her entire SSA check. I live in California and was wondering if anybody could help me with how accurate the advice that has been given to me is. My husband and I are not wealthy he's a custodian and I'm retired so I don't want to be stuck with some hidden expenses.
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As POA, you are not usually responsible for the debts of your person, but she is stuck with paying on the loans she co-signed for - which is exactly one should NEVER cosign for anything you cannot pay, of course! - and the lien on the house is probably valid. She might be able to consider bankruptcy, and you may be able to sell the house but the lien would come out of the proceeds. If Mom passes on and there is nothing left in the estate after all that, I do not think they can come after you personally on the school loans since you did not cosign - they could come after her estate though. It sounds like you need a financial advisor or even an attorney to help get things in order and maybe put pressure on brother to pay what he should, plus make sure he does not have an opportunity to get POA back from you; Mom can change it as long as she is not incompetent.
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My mother has been co-signing school loans for my brother's children, who is now not paying. He is very forceful, and was her POA, but Mom is not incomp. Me being her POA and have my name now on her house, when she dies what will happen to the house, and will I as POA be responsible for his debt?? He also has loan against house. Where or how do I turn to? She has no money and I've moved her into my house.
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Probate for small estate is fairly simple. In NY an estate with less than $30K is just a $1 filing fee at the county courthouse. More than that, get a lawyer to help you.
JTWROS will be changed to survivor's name when the death certificate is presented at the bank. BUT the nursing home can sue for the bill in states that have "filial responsibility" laws.
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A brother and sister have joint accounts ( JTWROS). If one sibling passes and is in the Medi-cad Estate Recovery Program, does the other one living have to be responsible for their bills in that?
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Pamstegma, it is not in both our names, but I would have to do a probate after, could that still effect it?
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Icdou007, You are not responsible for a sibling's Medi-Cal estate recovery.
But if the house is in both names, there could be a lien against the half owned by the sibling.
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Estate Recovery Program Question.

If you live with lets say, a brother or sister and not married, and file taxes separate and one dies, does the other get billed for their time with Medi-Cal?
It doesn't seem fair for a sibling do have to pay up? Would like to know? Live in the same house, but do pretty much everything separate , accept on a couple accounts?
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