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He is 78 years old and very sick. He only received $1000 monthly ss. He has no assets and no house. He gave me house 3 years ago. I am his power of attorney. Do I need to pay his debts? Not sure if credit card able to take my dad house. The house already on my name. Please advice

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
Please don't make the mistake of paying a single payment. Then you legally "assume the debt" and the debt is yours.
Your father's SS is judgement-proof. That is to say the person holding the debt can go to court and get a court order for payment but the one thing they cannot TOUCH is social security.
Ignore the debt or tell them that Dad has no money. Either way, ignore the threats, and put the phone down gently.
There is no way to collect. This is the price that is paid by giving loans to folks who don't/can't pay. Now do understand that your Dad's credit will be ruined, but that's a GOOD THING, because Dad no longer has any business getting loans he can't pay.

Relax. On you go. Wishing you the best.
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Reply to AlvaDeer
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His credit rating will be shot, but who cares? He's not going to be buying any houses or cars in the future. Cut up the card and mail it back to the card company.
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Reply to olddude
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The credit card company can sue for part of his Social Security in order for them to get paid. They probably won't though. Don't let him run up any more though. 20K is enough. Your father committed fraud by running his credit cards up with no intention or way to pay for them.

No, the credit card company can't come after you personally for the money, but you should pay them off. He gave you a house. So borrow on it and pay off his debts. If he has to go into LTC, and five years didn't pass since he gave you his house, you will have to sell it to pay the care bill until the Medicaid spend-down is done.

You should try to negotiate with the credit card companies to see if they will settle on a cash amount lesser than what he owes. They will work with you.
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Reply to BurntCaregiver
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The house transfer 3 years ago unless it was sold at fair market value is soon to be your headache as Medicaid will not pay for his custodial and nursing care if he needs skilled services and cannot return home. He will be rejected for several months based on the value of this home. He needed the $$$ from the house to spend doen for his care and he gifted it to you. Monthly SNF costs can be 14 k per month. It is costly to reverse this title change.. And you are worried about a credit debt which is not your responsibility. What may be your responsibility is providing care for him 24/7, without your ability to work for wages, least you get cited for neglect. See an elder attorney ASAP. And BTW, when on Medicaid, ,most of his SS will be used to pay for his care going forward.
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Reply to MACinCT
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No, don’t pay the credit card debt. If he needs Long Term Care though, and can’t pay the Nursing Home bill and needs Medicaid to pay for it, there might be a problem if he transferred the property to you 3 years ago. Some states have a 5 year look back for asset transfers. I would consult with an attorney who knows the laws in your state for information on that.
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Reply to mstrbill
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the credit card company can’t take property. All they do is report you for bad credit, which lingers for seven years until taken off.
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Reply to PeggySue2020
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No, do not pay his debt for him or this may be legally interpreted as assuming the responsibility for it. Unless you are joint on the card, it's not your debt.

$20K is a lot of debt so whoever buys the debt (a collection company) will be highly motivated to persue it, so they will hound him -- and not sure what else they could do to him. I wouldn't worry about his credit score. At his age, this is a non-issue. I would not answer the calls from the collectors or respond to their letters.

No, they cannot take his house. They can't even touch his SS income. When you say he "gave" you his house, did he literally sign it over to you? Or did he just verbally tell you? This will eventually make a legal difference.

Are you his PoA? Does he have one? Are you joint on any of his accounts? If he doesn't have a PoA it would be wise to meet with a certified elder law attorney to make sure you know what to expect on this journey.
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Reply to Geaton777
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