Being told I should wait a year to apply

[Netty_73]

Hello! I am interested in getting A & A benefits for my 83-year-old mom, diagnosed with Alzheimer's and who has been living in an assisted living facility since July 26, 2010. My WWII-veteran dad passed away in April 2010, and Mom was able to live at home for a while with the aid of friends and family, but we knew we needed to get her placed in assisted living before winter, as the weather would greatly limit our ability to reach her if she needed us (all 5 children live 50 miles away). Mom has about $100K in the bank and only receives a monthly income of $587 in Social Security. She's physically very healthy, it's just her mind that's unwell. Her father lived to 97, and I could see her doing the same.

I recently consulted over the phone with a financial advisor and an attorney who specializes in filing A & A claims. I was told that the VA would look at my mom's status as of the first of the month following my dad's passing to determine her eligibility--not, say next week, if I were to send in the forms then. Because she was still living at home on May 1 and was not yet paying an assisted living facility, her medical expenses and net worth would not qualify her for A & A. They said I should wait a year to apply, during which time we'd be privately paying for her care. I have been unable to find any evidence that verifies this recommendation. In the meantime, the financial advisor wants me to put some of mom's money in an annuity which would provide the additional money she would still need to pay for her assisted living facility, as her income of $587 plus the max A & A benefit would still not be enough to cover the monthly fee.

Does this sound correct to anyone? I just really worry that I'm missing out on a benefit Mom could be receiving now.  I'm not trying to protect her assets, believe me--there are 5 of us kids, and what little Mom has left isn't enough to make much of an inheritance for any of us. I believe her money is her money and should be used for her care. I just don't want her to run out of money long before she passes. Please advise, thank you so much!

[VSR]

I disagree.

If her only income is $683.50/month (I'm assuming you reported net SSA before Medicare), then standard assisted living at $2500-3000/month would wipe her out in about 4 years (not including the cost of incidentals, supplemental insurance, increasing cost of care with declining health, RX, etc).  Life expectancy of roughly 6.5-7 years would indicate that her net worth would not sustain her and, therefore, financial hardship would be shown and a grant would be warranted.

That being said, the X factor here is the value of her home.  The day she moves into an assisted living facility, the home becomes disposable net worth and could negatively effect her eligibility.  My suggestion would be to submit the application in a month or two when she is ready to move in.  VA's turnaround time would be roughly 4 months and, by that point, her net worth would likely be depleted enough to where she would qualify and VA could still process the grant retroactively to May 1, 2010 (first of the month after the month in which the veteran died).

[Netty_73]

VSR, thanks so much for your reply. She's actually already living in the assisted living facility--has been since July 26. As far as her house....it's not worth much, and in fact, I think it will take us a very, very long time to sell it. My parents lived in a declining small town in southeast Nebraska. While it's only 50-60 miles from larger cities, the school closed a few years ago, and now there isn't even a grocery store or a restaurant. Home values are extremely low because no one wants to live there....you have to drive at least 20 miles to get to any town with job prospects (unless you're a farmer), and if you have children, they have to take the bus every day for at least 10 miles to get to school. My parents had claimed Homestead Exemption on their property taxes, which meant they didn't have to pay property taxes due to low income and being over 65. I filled out that paperwork this year after my dad passed away, and the country has their property valued at only $19,000. Amazing, I know....and believe me, it's not a bad house. It's just an old frame house that's been well taken care of over the years. What's been happening is that the elderly folks who have lived there forever and took good care of their properties are slowly dying off, and their families have a difficult time getting rid of the houses. So, lots of undesirables have moved to town who don't take care of anything and have junk sitting all around. They take advantage of the very low home prices and then just live there and collect welfare checks. Very sad to see my hometown decline like this.

Anyway--sorry to go off on a tangent--just wanted you to know Mom's house will definitely not be able to provide her with much cash even if we are able to sell. We're not planning on doing anything with it for the rest of this year.....just too much going on to find the time to sort through two lifetime's worth of possessions. The financial advisor seemed like an honest guy, and he hasn't been pressuring me to put Mom's money in annuities--he suggested it and is now waiting for me to decide. I haven't had any unsolicited communication with him, and upon looking him on on the BBB site, he has had no complaints against him. Not sure what to do.

[AngelaManz]

Go ahead and apply - you do not need to wait a year.  And be careful of annuities - if she gets a monthly annuity payment, it will raise her income for VA purposes.  That may not be a bad thing for some folks, but for others it will cause ineligibility.  Also, annuities typically tie up her cash, meaning that if she were to need extra cash, she would not be able to access it.  Although some annuities can be good investments, I would be very wary and proceed with caution.

I suggest contacting someone who isn't trying to sell you something to get a clear and unbiased view of how to proceed.  You can find accredited VA attorneys in your area to assist you.