Paying for Parents Nursing Home Costs
It’s not always easy to tell whether or not you’ll end up covering the debt that your parent incurred during their time at a nursing home.
To be concerned about this topic is understandable, and there are laws which can mean that individuals may be charged for their parents’ nursing home bills. To ease your fears, however, not every state has these laws. And even if you’ve been granted financial power of attorney by your parents, you may still not have to pay for those nursing home expenses. This isn’t the same as dealing with debt during probate. Just as a taste, there might be five factors which all need to become active before you’ll even need to consider paying.
One in Twenty-Nine
On top of Puerto Rico, there are at least twenty-nine states out there which may cause you to pay for your parent’s unpaid nursing home bills. That means that if your parent were to randomly chose to live in any given state in the US, they would have a greater than fifty percent chance to live in a state that may hold you accountable for mom and dad’s nursing home bills. The concern is where they live rather than where you live. Filial support laws are what may cause you to pay up, but thankfully, cases in which these laws are actually enforced are rather rare.
You want to be aware that these laws usually impact families in which the parents can’t pay their bill. If they’re refusing to pay their bill, that might be an entirely different matter. Filial support laws are, moreover, not without mercy. They’re intended to also to factor in the offspring’s ability to pay for their parents as well. If this does become a serious topic of discussion, both parties should discuss how their income and money may change the situation. This isn’t the time to be shy about money matters.
POA May Change Nothing
For people who have been granted financial power of attorney, your duty is, more or less, to deal with the principal’s assets.
You’re not dealing with your own assets. So, if you have financial POA and your parents don’t reside in a state with filial laws, you might not be held accountable for your parents’ unpaid nursing home bills. It might be nice of you to think of using some of your money to help them out or selling some property to pay for their care, but that might not be needed. That said, having or not having POA will probably not impact the matter overall.
At least, it may not impact the matter if you can’t do anything with the principal’s assets.
You’ve got to come to terms with what can be done and what can’t be done with what they’ve got. There’s almost always the possibility that what you do with the other party’s assets will cause you harm if not done properly. No matter what, you’ve got to make the right decisions. Nonetheless, you still need to be aware of the fact that if you agreed to be responsible for your principal’s expenses, you may still need to pay regardless of where they live. Then, you might have to pay up.
Five Main Factors | Paying for Parent’s Nursing Home Costs
Getting back to general situations involving filial support laws, there tends to be at least five factors which must come into place. That’s to say, you may not have to worry about paying a dime unless all five of these circumstances arise.
Please note that things might be different if you have agreed to pay for your parent’s expenses when you were granted financial POA. The first factor should be rather obvious in that your parent will need to be living in a state that actually has filial laws. You probably don’t need to worry about whether or not you live in one as much as you need to be aware of your parent’s place of residence.
The next three factors can be summed up into your parent not having the resources to pay while you do. The first factor is that your parent can’t be able to pay. Then, they have to not be able to receive Medicaid assistance. After that, if you so happen to have the money to pay the bill, which is the fourth factor, the fifth factor can come into place. The people who were taking care of your parent will have to sue you to try to get their money. It’s when that fifth factor becomes a reality that you should be concerned about how much you have to pay.
Medicaid Trouble
As a word of warning, you must also be careful about your parent relying on Medicaid. Some people truthfully need it, and that’s perfectly fine. It’s that you’ve got to be mindful that Medicaid might want part of your folk’s estate. You heard correctly. The Medicaid recovery process may take away your family’s assets in order to help recover from whatever costs your parents incurred. This may not just impact the family home, but it can also take away money from a trust and other things that your folks owned, too.
There are many different kinds of debt that can impact elder law. Once you go through the probate process you might just realize how many assets need to be sold in order to pay off unpaid debt. So, it’s no surprise that Medicaid wants to have your parent pay off the debt they created. You have to view every object as being a dollar sign to them. You may have some very deep sentiment towards family heirlooms, but the money might need to be paid someway.
Planning for the Future | Minnesota Guardianship and Conservatorship Lawyers
Elder law matters can range from will writing to getting ready for a loved one’s passing. Dealing with each of those matters takes patience and wisdom. Rather than relying on your own strength, you can always get help with these matters with Minnesota guardianship lawyers. Assistance is a phone call away at 612-424-0398.
You might be surprised how many different topics surround elder law as most of these subjects intertwine with one another. Making a trust to help pay for living expenses is only one of many options out there. Plan for the future by starting today. You can help a loved one by being there for the things that they need you the most.
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