Always remain responsible for your own money. imo. In this case, remain 100% responsible for whomever you are caring for.
No one will care more than yourself where the money goes.
You may have problems accessing/using the personal needs account held and kept by the AL or NH. If not used, it accrues. It is by law a small percentage of the SS check. Someone needs to be accountable for these funds, however small.
For ease in making the payments monthly, you can have the bank automatically pay the AL.
This is in an AL & not a NH, right? If you did this it would then mean the AL (if it’s an independent or if it’s part of a group then their corporate office) would become the representative payee for her SS income. So her SSA income totally controlled by the facility. It’s a standard form for SSA.
BUT it might become problematic….
Often admissions at a NH will routinely suggest or heavily imply that their becoming the rep payee needs / must be done either b/c the resident is on LTC Medicaid & that is not true. sometimes it seems the NH is concerned that the resident / family does not have the $ to private pay, so having their SSA mo income go directly to the place ensures they get paid something. I’m kinda surprised that a AL would do this, but perhaps AL are now following NH in this as a standard request.
For some of us who are POA for family or an elder, having the facility become the new payee can make it simpler as no check writing or banking involved. But for others, continuing to have elders income get direct deposited into their old bank account and then they or you as POA write a check or ACH each mo is just as easy. I wrote a check ea mo to my mom NH for her required Medicaid copay like what MysteryShopper does. It’s just a other bill that you make sure to pay on time!
In my opinion, there is are a couple huge HUGE drawbacks to having a facility become the SSA rep payee….. - if your elder needs to move from this place to another one, they will need to do a withdrawal of the old rep payee paperwork filed to SSA and a new rep payee paperwork done. This may not be at all simple. SSA does NOT, again does NOT, recognized POA but will want the elder to do themselves whatever needed to get the paperwork through SSA. If your elder has dementia, this will not be easy. It could end up being a real challenge….. meanwhile the new facility isn’t getting paid as the old place still getting SSA $…… unhappiness all around. & - if your elder goes onto Medicaid & their SS paid to NH, the personal needs allowance that Medicaid allows for them keep & not required to be a copay to the NH, will all be placed in a NH personal trust account. So if you as POA want to get some of the PNA $ - like you want to go buy $200 of clothing - then you will have to go to the business office to sign a ledger to get a withdrawal from her PNA Trust account. For my moms 1st NH the business office was only open M-F and till noonish, I live in another state and getting in b4 noon wasnt really feasible, so it was eons good that my moms PNA built up ea mo in her old checking account & I did a big siege every 2-3 months. You do need to be mindful that their bank balance cannot exceed whatever your state has as the maximum for assets. For most it’s $2,000.
Really figure out what truly works best. All of our situations are unique!
What you do is allow the AL to become payee but I would not do that with an AL. I did do it when Mom was receiving help from Medicaid in a NH. Mom was declining fast so I knew this would be the last place she would be living in.
With you, is SS covering the stay in the AL? Do you still need to write a check to the AL for what SS does not cover? If you are still writing a check for what the SS does not cover, I would not allow the AL to become payee. If she is on Medicaid and you feel this is the last place she will reside, then I might allow the AL to become payee.
When my grandmother was in assisted living, she still had her checkbook and did her own banking. I'm sure her SS was not going directly to her AL as there would seem to be no reason since she was cognitively still quite sharp.
The lady I help currently is in a full 24/7 care situation in a nursing home on Medicaid. I believe I have the option to have her SS go directly to the facility, but I don't do it that way. Her funds still get directly deposited to the checking account she's always used and I write a check for her monthly fee (a.k.a. Patient Liability).
Maybe give a little more info on the situation and you'll get more specific answers.
In this case, remain 100% responsible for whomever you are caring for.
No one will care more than yourself where the money goes.
You may have problems accessing/using the personal needs account held and kept by the AL or NH. If not used, it accrues. It is by law a small percentage of the SS check. Someone needs to be accountable for these funds, however small.
For ease in making the payments monthly, you can have the bank automatically pay the AL.
If you did this it would then mean the AL (if it’s an independent or if it’s part of a group then their corporate office) would become the representative payee for her SS income. So her SSA income totally controlled by the facility. It’s a standard form for SSA.
BUT it might become problematic….
Often admissions at a NH will routinely suggest or heavily imply that their becoming the rep payee needs / must be done either b/c the resident is on LTC Medicaid & that is not true. sometimes it seems the NH is concerned that the resident / family does not have the $ to private pay, so having their SSA mo income go directly to the place ensures they get paid something. I’m kinda surprised that a AL would do this, but perhaps AL are now following NH in this as a standard request.
For some of us who are POA for family or an elder, having the facility become the new payee can make it simpler as no check writing or banking involved. But for others, continuing to have elders income get direct deposited into their old bank account and then they or you as POA write a check or ACH each mo is just as easy. I wrote a check ea mo to my mom NH for her required Medicaid copay like what MysteryShopper does. It’s just a other bill that you make sure to pay on time!
In my opinion, there is are a couple huge HUGE drawbacks to having a facility become the SSA rep payee…..
- if your elder needs to move from this place to another one, they will need to do a withdrawal of the old rep payee paperwork filed to SSA and a new rep payee paperwork done. This may not be at all simple. SSA does NOT, again does NOT, recognized POA but will want the elder to do themselves whatever needed to get the paperwork through SSA. If your elder has dementia, this will not be easy. It could end up being a real challenge….. meanwhile the new facility isn’t getting paid as the old place still getting SSA $…… unhappiness all around.
&
- if your elder goes onto Medicaid & their SS paid to NH, the personal needs allowance that Medicaid allows for them keep & not required to be a copay to the NH, will all be placed in a NH personal trust account. So if you as POA want to get some of the PNA $ - like you want to go buy $200 of clothing - then you will have to go to the business office to sign a ledger to get a withdrawal from her PNA Trust account. For my moms 1st NH the business office was only open M-F and till noonish, I live in another state and getting in b4 noon wasnt really feasible, so it was eons good that my moms PNA built up ea mo in her old checking account & I did a big siege every 2-3 months. You do need to be mindful that their bank balance cannot exceed whatever your state has as the maximum for assets. For most it’s $2,000.
Really figure out what truly works best. All of our situations are unique!
With you, is SS covering the stay in the AL? Do you still need to write a check to the AL for what SS does not cover? If you are still writing a check for what the SS does not cover, I would not allow the AL to become payee. If she is on Medicaid and you feel this is the last place she will reside, then I might allow the AL to become payee.
The lady I help currently is in a full 24/7 care situation in a nursing home on Medicaid. I believe I have the option to have her SS go directly to the facility, but I don't do it that way. Her funds still get directly deposited to the checking account she's always used and I write a check for her monthly fee (a.k.a. Patient Liability).
Maybe give a little more info on the situation and you'll get more specific answers.