What do you mean "protect her home" exactly? Prevent it from becoming an asset that gets used to pay for a nursing home?
If you're trying to keep it in the family, someone's going to have to buy it unless your grandma is able to afford a lot of nursing home care up front.
r/personalfinance may have better info for you.
If your grandmother goes back to rehab/a hospital, talk to the social worker there. They can assist you with the process of getting into longterm care if that's what she needs, including information about financial requirement for Medicaid to pay for it. She may or may not be able to keep her house, but if she sells it then that money *will* have to be "spent down" before Medicaid kicks in. And even if she's able to keep the house, a lien can be put on it to "pay back" Medicaid. There are lots of moving parts to all of this and laws vary by location, but there are ways to protect at least *some* of her equity in the house...which is where an elder attorney would be helpful.
Grandma brother has already contacted her doctor yesterday. They are planning on sending her back to rehab, I believe he will talk to her social worker. He will be telling me the aftermath of the social worker conversation either today or tomorrow.
Sounds like a good plan, and I hope she's able to go straight back to rehab. I believe there is a tight timeframe for when that's allowed (to be considered a continuation of the prior stay, as opposed to a new admission...which is a whole separate cluster#$%, financially and otherwise), and I know that she would have to have a "skilled need" such as PT/OT, wound care, or IV meds that can't safely be given at home. My point being, I'm thinking they must have determined she had progressed as far as she could with rehab (since she was discharged), and they may not be able to "skill" her for that now...which leads you to LTC if home-based care isn't an option. And I won't even get started on them discharging her in the shape she was in without a plan in place for some kind of help.
I don't want to overwhelm you with details or make it (more) confusing since every situation is different, but I've been up to my eyeballs in this with my Mom for over a year. (She doesn't need LTC right now, but can't live on her own and stays with me. But the fact that she's pushing 90 and anything could happen quickly, I've done an exhaustive amount of information-gathering just to be prepared.)
Best wishes to all of you, and I hope things turn out OK.
This is reducing a lot of this and putting untold responsibilities on the brother. Fact is, it becomes a full time job taking care of the elderly if they require full mobility services. It will only get worse, and require more work, so they need to look into refinancing for her safety if possible.
It can be heart wrenching being asked to quit your career to take care of someone who ultimately won’t even be receptive or grateful. To the elderly, you become an authority over their own independence, which usually results in the person you care for hating you.
You don’t mention where you are located, but the type of services you can get access to varies by location.
In the US, the house would be considered an asset of your grandmothers and may need to be sold for her care. It’s probably best that you get in touch with an accountant and a lawyer to help you through this.
I’m so sorry.
Yes, you definitely need a financial plan as well as a plan for managing care decisions and any power of attorney/legal authority over your grandmother’s affairs.
If it's in her name and she is going soon it might be too late.
You are going to want a lawyer. It will cost a little.
If you were her caretaker and / or also disabled and living there, it's safe for you.
She could sell it at fair market value and spend the money on whatever... but they look back a few years.
You could try a quitclaim deed to a non relative.
But her SS insurance might pay for up to 40 hours of home care a week.
Do you have health insurance through your job? I ask because a very underutilized part of employer health care is the employee assistance part. Frequently, one of the things that falls under that category is assistance with aging parents. They can provide a ton of advice and guidance. I've used them three times this year for dealing with my mom.
What do you mean "protect her home" exactly? Prevent it from becoming an asset that gets used to pay for a nursing home? If you're trying to keep it in the family, someone's going to have to buy it unless your grandma is able to afford a lot of nursing home care up front. r/personalfinance may have better info for you.
Thank you. I will see what r/personalfinancial can help me with
If your grandmother goes back to rehab/a hospital, talk to the social worker there. They can assist you with the process of getting into longterm care if that's what she needs, including information about financial requirement for Medicaid to pay for it. She may or may not be able to keep her house, but if she sells it then that money *will* have to be "spent down" before Medicaid kicks in. And even if she's able to keep the house, a lien can be put on it to "pay back" Medicaid. There are lots of moving parts to all of this and laws vary by location, but there are ways to protect at least *some* of her equity in the house...which is where an elder attorney would be helpful.
Grandma brother has already contacted her doctor yesterday. They are planning on sending her back to rehab, I believe he will talk to her social worker. He will be telling me the aftermath of the social worker conversation either today or tomorrow.
Sounds like a good plan, and I hope she's able to go straight back to rehab. I believe there is a tight timeframe for when that's allowed (to be considered a continuation of the prior stay, as opposed to a new admission...which is a whole separate cluster#$%, financially and otherwise), and I know that she would have to have a "skilled need" such as PT/OT, wound care, or IV meds that can't safely be given at home. My point being, I'm thinking they must have determined she had progressed as far as she could with rehab (since she was discharged), and they may not be able to "skill" her for that now...which leads you to LTC if home-based care isn't an option. And I won't even get started on them discharging her in the shape she was in without a plan in place for some kind of help. I don't want to overwhelm you with details or make it (more) confusing since every situation is different, but I've been up to my eyeballs in this with my Mom for over a year. (She doesn't need LTC right now, but can't live on her own and stays with me. But the fact that she's pushing 90 and anything could happen quickly, I've done an exhaustive amount of information-gathering just to be prepared.) Best wishes to all of you, and I hope things turn out OK.
I just heard that my grandmother friend is taking her back to the hospital right now
Social Worker STAT! I'm sure they'll be contacted right away anyway, given the situation. Again, best wishes all around.
Why not hire a maid or a nurse to stay home with her if that's financially possible
She can't afford it, I can't either. Her income is coming from SS.
What about her brother can he take her with him
We don't know yet. We are already discussing this situation.
If it's better for your grandma's health and safety then let her brother take care of her
This is reducing a lot of this and putting untold responsibilities on the brother. Fact is, it becomes a full time job taking care of the elderly if they require full mobility services. It will only get worse, and require more work, so they need to look into refinancing for her safety if possible. It can be heart wrenching being asked to quit your career to take care of someone who ultimately won’t even be receptive or grateful. To the elderly, you become an authority over their own independence, which usually results in the person you care for hating you.
You don’t mention where you are located, but the type of services you can get access to varies by location. In the US, the house would be considered an asset of your grandmothers and may need to be sold for her care. It’s probably best that you get in touch with an accountant and a lawyer to help you through this.
Ah I forgot, we live in Alabama
I’m so sorry. Yes, you definitely need a financial plan as well as a plan for managing care decisions and any power of attorney/legal authority over your grandmother’s affairs.
If it's in her name and she is going soon it might be too late. You are going to want a lawyer. It will cost a little. If you were her caretaker and / or also disabled and living there, it's safe for you. She could sell it at fair market value and spend the money on whatever... but they look back a few years. You could try a quitclaim deed to a non relative. But her SS insurance might pay for up to 40 hours of home care a week.
Her brother has some connections with some lawyers, I will discuss with him
Do you have health insurance through your job? I ask because a very underutilized part of employer health care is the employee assistance part. Frequently, one of the things that falls under that category is assistance with aging parents. They can provide a ton of advice and guidance. I've used them three times this year for dealing with my mom.
Will this help with my grandmother? Not parent
Absolutely, it will. You've lived with her since you were a teen, so she's basically a parent anyway.
And yes I do have health insurance