A&A question (Can they take my mom's A&A away

[kris]

I live in Nevada(my job) and my Mom is in a fostercare home in oregon.  My intentions were to move back to oregon and have my mom live with me, however because of the housing market and my job that is not going to happen.

Mom has been in 3 foster cares in 2 years and her care has been awful to the tune of neglect at each one.  I am moving my mom to Nevada to live with me at the end of october.  My mom has aid and attendence over $900 a month and she is on medicaid and between her Social security and a pension from my father a deceased retired veteran she makes about another $200 thousand a month. 

I called the VA and they told me nothing would change with her benefits, however unless I am just to confused it looks like she would make too much money $24000 a year plus the $900 (a little more then $900 A&A).  My mom is wheelchair bound.  My sister is retired and is going to move in with me to help take care of my mom. 

All of that above and now my questions.

1.  My mom will no longer be on medicaid and I have been told to charge her rent so it depletes her money.  She pays over 1900 amonth for fostercare.  I don't know what to charge her for rent or even if I am allowed to charge her rent. 

2.  Do I need to see a lawyer to set up some type of trust for her money.  And if I do need to see a lawyer what kind of lawyer.  (can't find a elder law lawyer in Las vegas)

3.  It is costing me about $4000 dollars to move her out to Nevada so am I allowed to pay my self back with her money.

My sister and I know we are taking alot on ourselfs but we both have so much guilt for how my mom has been treated in these fostercares.  And my mom says the new place only gives her a shower once a week and we know its true because she has bedsores that are awful.  Plus the people yell at her when she is on the phone with me or my sister and its her phone in her room paid for by us. 

Thank you for your time
This is a great site

Kris

[vetadmin]

Kris,

You would do well to find an attorney to best advise you on this matter.  There are simply too many issues that fall into too many categories.

What we do offer as some suggestions and guidelines for you to explore are:

1. Of course you can pay yourself back for any expenses you incur on her mother's behalf - keep records because Elder Financial Abuse is a serious crime.

2. You need to understand Nevada Elder Services and Medicaid (they are not the same thing) and what options are availabe to your mother - some states do not included A&A when tabulating income for A&A, but remember, you can not assume what amount of the payment is A&A, you must ask the VA for a letter in writing, some states have programs where a family member providing care can get reimbursed by the state for a certain number of hours, some states provide Home Health Aids for a certain number of hours if you meet their financial criteria - obviously, it is important to work with someone who understands the rules in Nevada - and that someone will likely be a team of people, not just the Elder Law Attorney.  Elder Services is who you should call for services offered by the state.

3. Look on the NAELA (National Acedemy of Elder Law Attorneys) website for a Nevada Elder Law Attorney https://naela.ebiz.uapps.net/solutionsite/Default.aspx?tabid=148.  There are many listed.

Hope this helps with some of the decisions you are faced with and we wish you the best of luck.

[pologal]

There are a few issues to consider here.

1.  Is she on pension? Or DIC?

If she receives DIC with A/A then its OK. DIC is a compensation benefit. No change to her benefits.

If she receives death pension with A/A that is a different issue.  Pension is income based.  If she was paying the foster care fees and she stops paying them - you have to notify VA of any decrease in unreimbursed medical expenses if the claimant is on pension. 

If you provide more details I can explain more....

~~~~


1.  My mom will no longer be on medicaid and I have been told to charge her rent so it depletes her money.  She pays over 1900 amonth for fostercare.  I don't know what to charge her for rent or even if I am allowed to charge her rent.

if she is on PENSION, then you may want to consider reporting "sitter fees" as her unreimbursed medical expenses.  ie if you are her sitter - ie help her dress, bathe, eat, etc. you can do this.

2.  Do I need to see a lawyer to set up some type of trust for her money.  And if I do need to see a lawyer what kind of lawyer.  (can't find a elder law lawyer in Las vegas)

talk to a lawyer on this one.

3.  It is costing me about $4000 dollars to move her out to Nevada so am I allowed to pay my self back with her money.


thats between you and mom i guess. another question for your lawyer tho.