My father will not be able to afford his credit card payments after he moves into an assisted living facility. What are his options?

So many of the above comments illustrate the importance : transfer of the property via IGT, and not wait until the parents are no longer independent

Im not sure if I am in the same boat as others who have asked this question. I have about $60,000 in credit card bills and loans. I have no savings and live on my SSI and pensio. If the time comes where I need to go into an Assisted Living Facility, does the law require the facility to bo paid first by my SSI and Pension; and creditors second?

From more practical standpoint; it is doubtful that Dad is going to be applying for new credit.

Were you ever appointed power of attorney....

His current upkeep is the number one priority.

It sounds like any payments made will never clear the debt....

Creditors can request assets when the estate is probated. if any there is any residual.

kmd - about Assisted Living, most AL are totally private pay. So you have to be able to fully pay for your stay on your own. Most AL run between 2K - 5K. Now some states have Medicaid diversion programs which will pay for AL rather than a NH as the costs are lower (so saves the states money). But those seem to come from a list based on residents who have been there and doing private pay for a couple of years prior. If you are on a Medicaid diversion AL program, all your monthly income must be paid to the facility except for a small amount (runs between $ 35 - 90 a month) which is your personal needs allowance. The allowance is all the income you will have too. Your income & assets all have to be fully reportable for Medicaid so no way around any of this. There realistically will be no $ to be able to pay on your debts once in a facility on Medicaid.

But for AL you may have a problem in admissions. SInce most AL (like IL) are private pay, they can run a credit check as part of the admissions process. If you have lousy credit, you may find they will never have an opening for you without a significant deposit or someone else to sign off to be financially responsible for you.

60K isn't that much debt, how to deal with it, well a lot depends on what the debt is. You know the majority of bankruptcy's are medical debt. You might think about bankruptcy and then moving into subsidized housing.

You kinda have to be careful with debt & Medicaid. If you default on credit card and often medical debt, they can send you a 1099-C for the amount of the debt, interest and perhaps also fees. The 1099-C is fully reportable income for IRS too. So can totally be a problem for Medicaid. You have to do taxes & have enough expenses to establish impoverishment for that tax year. If you are in a NH, they run 5K - 15K a month, so a few months of private pay can establish impoverishment. You may not have the ability to do that, so you may be better off doing bankruptcy. Most cities have Consumer Credit Counseling Services which can come up with payment options for CC debt. Their services are free. Maybe check with them and them with bankruptcy attorney to see what is the best reality. Good luck.

Dave Ramsey might suggest womething like stop paying the CC bills and when they go to collections try to get a settlement of something like 30-40 cents on the dollar or less. Collection agencies typically buy such debts for pennies on the dollar and will settle for a substantial cut. BUT, never give electronic access to any funds because they WILL drain your assets. and be sure to get a statement IN WRITING that an agreed amount will settle the debt in full.

The daughter is not responsible for the fathers bills (unless she declares she is)
If all the father has is the income she described then it goes to pay for his care. in AL period.
She does not have to pay the credit card bills; he will never get them paid, he will not have taxes as his expenses are eating iall his income in AL
Daughter should in no case agree to any credit card collection settlement
Credit card is the last priority .