Yes, there is such a need. I am in that role now for a friend of mine who is in memory care. Fortunately, he and his wife game me complete authority over their finances and health care 18 months before they went into memory care and were still kind of competent in their decision making. There are no other family entanglement that make it difficult for me to sort out their affairs. The wife died at the end of October and I am now trying to figure out the ins and outs of their estate. Everything was jointly held, which helps. But, dealing with their financial advisor and credit card companies is time consuming. I am learning a lot and hopefully, I will be able to help others in this position once I've done this. The key is finding a trust-worthy individual to play this role. I am also the executor of their estate and know what they want done with their assets should any remain after the husband passes on, too. I am careful with receipts and checks to validate everything I am doing and extra careful about any money coming to me--only for reimbursing me for a needed purchase on their behalf. I want none of their estate to pass to me or any of their money unless it is used for them.
I agree with Windy, it is usually a family member who will take over the bill paying. It's not easy to set up a system. What I do is write checks from my own checking and my Dad reimburses me. I keep copies of everything.
Getting reimbursed has been the issue for me. Example my Dad owed me over $15,000 for his caregivers, so he accidentally wrote me a check for $15.00. Oops. No wonder there were mix-ups on what was paid and what wasn't prior.
Or if the elder uses a Caregiver from an Agency, the Agency has Caregivers who will help the elder with sorting out the bills, writing checks, and filing what was paid. These Caregivers are licenses, bonded, and insured.
Generally speaking, yes. It's usually a family member who takes over the financial affairs when someone becomes incompetent. Usually requires power of attorney or guardianship.
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Getting reimbursed has been the issue for me. Example my Dad owed me over $15,000 for his caregivers, so he accidentally wrote me a check for $15.00. Oops. No wonder there were mix-ups on what was paid and what wasn't prior.
Or if the elder uses a Caregiver from an Agency, the Agency has Caregivers who will help the elder with sorting out the bills, writing checks, and filing what was paid. These Caregivers are licenses, bonded, and insured.