Mom has been in a nursing home since 12/2024 for rehab then 100 days on medicare ended applied for temporary medicaid now has to be re-certified by November.
Nursing home has gotten her social security, signed over her pension + RMD from her vanguard---BUT
She's been getting 2-3 monthly checks since 1990's for lifetime worksmans comp for a settlement that she won in 1990's because she was fired illegally. She went to bank cashed checks before she got badly hurt and went to a nursing home without it being on her bank statement now bank demands deposit then withdrawal so a record appears which the nursing home will see.
I have 5-6 checks sitting here tried check cashing places, I'm her trust and POA so can legally do her banking. My mother is iriate they have her ss/pension, part of her RMD/IRA and now they get her workman's comp she cashed at bank with no record and no problem forever.
As trust I did cash some checks with her permission and no record was generated but now that it is I do not want problems and don't want nursing home telling me she owes for 30 years of something she is legally entitled to until she passes.
I don't know what to do.
Back when her 100 days ended on medicare the choice was pay 11k month 20k deposit (did not get enough monthly) come home to hoarded mess (not viable option) or have nursing home put her on medicaid.
Now kicker here is this nursing home plays dirty, I asked what if she went there with no family or I passed at that time and they went overboard without my permission and launched a full guardianship to take possession without my consent and an investigator who keeps coming to her home despite me going there about 40 times since Dec 2024. Four virtual kangaroo court hearings later because she's staying for good at the nursing home and have most of her money they are going to drop the guardianship but I'm scared to tell them about workman's comp. To date the nursing home never asked me for anything since last Dec, not one call or one letter, and I told whoever asked about what she receives from day one but not this workmans comp because bank was cashing check with no record/no problem, this changed. The bank that issues the check for workman's comp cashed two of them with no record but told me in August that policy ends in September.
The guardianship has dragged on for months because Mom wanted to come home but two agencies did not offer enough hours and it was not safe for her to return home so it is now decided she stay at nursing home.
The judge dismissed her 30 year attorney in the first hearing because he did her POA/trust/will and gave her a court appointed attorney who is nice, and the court evaluator who is nasty went into her room without an attorney this year and scared my mom like she was a criminal for getting delirium and falling several times. Her former lawyer did let me use his office and sat on the virtual hearings to help me, but her new lawyer and me providing all banking they wanted likely will kill all guardianship proceedings.
But this workman's comp issue lingers. I can hold checks 180 days but have six of them.
I don't know what to do. Thank you.
She did not hide anything, she was never sent a 1099 for this or at least not this year when the same 1099's she always got arrived and I had her attorney pay her taxes as her POA. Workman's comp sent the checks, she went to her bank, they cashed them without putting it on her statement.
Chase bank issued the checks for workman's comp and cashed two of them despite not having an account there.
According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the workers' compensation benefits that you receive are not taxable.
I'm going to her attorney with the un-cashed checks so I don't do anything illegal. In January they wanted to negotiate a one time lump sum payment to stop the monthly checks I did not respond.
The settlement $ what does it pay each month? If it pays quarterly or biannual, just divide the annual total $ amount by 12.
Add the 4 sources all up….. is the total amount under $2,902.00?
This will make a huge beyond HUGE difference as to what type of problem mom has and how to possibly solve it. So what is her income per month total?
Social Security-$2400.00 Nursing home has received since May.
IRA $32000.00 did RMD Friday which was $1800.00 sending me a check I put in Mom's bank account nursing home gets $150.00 x 12 told Mom keeps rest in IRA. Signed over her husbands pension $2900.00 month on Friday.
They they do a calculation and allowance/budget for what she can keep.
When she arrived there last Dec I told them about $2400.00, 2900.00 and IRA 32,000 on admission forum, they never called me once or send me a thing in mail asking about her income.
Just did this Friday at nursing home, supposedly it will not begin until 11/15 after I deposit check for RMD being sent to me.
Workman's comp money 2x$300.00 month for life. Nursing home does not know about. This money is not taxable. I went to bank and cashed $300.00 checks as she did. Around June the bank demanded I deposit the checks and withdraw the money so I did.
Why do we have any problem when no one asked us about her income or ever called me? Once they started their guardianship everyone who called was told the numbers but not about the workman's comp money.
I pay her secondary insurance $247.00 out of her checking account and they still send bills here for services received at the nursing home that say this is not a bill. No one told me don't pay her premium every month.
So no 1099 but, IMO, that check needs to go towards Moms care. Or, a QIT/Miller Trust needs to be set up. But even then, Medicaid gets the money in the end. Its going to affect her assets and take her over the limit allowed. Yes, you need an elder lawyer. Also, if those checks are over 90 days, you may not be able to cash them and may have to have them reissued.
As for the nursing home taking your mother's money. Medicaid is not going to pay for her while she keeps income or her heirs try to.
Does your mother's monthly income exceed the $11,000 a month nursing home bill? If it does then she is entitled to keep the rest of her money. If it does not, then that is when Medicaid pays what her monthly income does not cover. This is what it is when a person gets put into care and has not made assets Medicaid-exempt. Your mother should have had a LTC policy that she paid every month if she has a large monthly income and other assets.
Medicaid is not going to pay for her unless all of her income is going towards her care. However, if the nursing home collected in cash from her and also from Medicare (when she was still on the 100 days) then she gets a refund. Have the lawyer take this up with Medicare. I did this and the nursing home my parent was in was forced to pay a refund. It was after they died because it took a while.
she does not get $11,000.00 a month. They wanted that plus a 20k deposit to stay when the 100 days were up. they did not take any money during her 100 days on medicare. they approved her for conditional medicaid and the recertification is due by 12/10/25, the nursing home started this process Friday. No one asked me for anything ever so of course I cashed some of her checks as she did, and then I stopped on August and have checks here now.
These checks are a 1991 settlement from a lawsuit against my mothers company that continues for life. She entered this facility in 12/2024 under 100 days so how much would she owe from that point to now on the $600.00 per month? She did this the old fashion way and received a physical check and went to the bank to cash it, they offered her a one time payment to settle, she said no, and told me cash the checks which I did until August. No one called or sent me any mail about any of this, their guardianship proceeding did not investigate this or apparently look for it.
She's not coming home the nursing home could not get her the 24/7 care she requires from agencies, and her memory is in deep decline. I asked her about these things, she does not remember besides she wants to keep the checks, I told her no now that check cashing places will not cash them or bank that issued them.
1. you posted “husband’s pension of $2,900”. Husband is deceased, right? This is a pension paid to her based on her husbands employment, right?
2. This pension along with her SSA $ of $2,400 a mo, are both being paid to the NH, right? So NH paid $5300 a mo?
2b. Nh also gets paid an extra RMD of $300 a mo? So $5600 total?
3. How is this being done? Are you writing a check from mom’s bank account to the facility? Or is facility now “representative payee” for both SSA & pension? Doing rep pay is something NH tend to want happen as now there is no middlemen (like a POA) they are waiting on for payment. It also gives them control in having a resident stay in a facility as beyond a b*tch try to change rep payee status as SSA does not recognized POA and elder tend to be not competent & cognitive enough to deal with SSA on their own. So is this nursing home your mom’s representative payee for both SS & pension?
RMDs, I don’t think can go under rep payee status. So your writing a check for $300 a mo to the Nh from moms bank account, yes?
If above is what’s happening, that’s $5600 mo so over Medicaid max
4. You mentioned guardianship was started & is paused, mom’s existing atty dismissed by the judge and someone was coming around mom’s house & NH asking ? several times. Sounds like APS investigation on moms living & cognitive status and NH asked the court to started guardianship process as they had concerns with mom & POA. It reads that mo owns a home so she has assets besides her SSA $, pension $, RMD $ that can be used for care & guardianship fees, right?. If you have been to court on mom related stuff, THIS IS SERIOUS as some type of court filings done, YOU NEED TO FIND AN ELDER ATTORNEY WHO DOES LITIGATION & do this ASAP for your own position in all this.
To me - not an atty btw - this NH is letting this slide on now for several months as there is a case building up to have you removed completely from anything mom, with a guardian appointed. It was probably put on a pause till a medical determination was done as to mom becoming a permanent custodial care resident as she would be incapable of being on her own in her home. They have gotten $5,600 a mo which is covering a lot of her bill. They are not yet been made whole for moms bill but once guardianship done, they will be.
if I’m right on the above, those actions you’ve taken with not reporting long existing (1991) settlement income as a resource of moms to NH or to Medicaid not a good look for you. YOU NEED AN ATTORNEY!
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Any $ received by someone who is applying or has applied for LTC Medicaid is considered a “resource” under Medicaid programs rules and is supposed to be included to be evaluated. $2901 max income allowed for most States. But some States allow for it to be over if all the resources combined are under the NH rate. Other States dont and elder does a Miller Trust. This is something mom’s attorney should have had some knowledge about or if not, referred her to an elder law atty experienced in Medicaid.
Whether or not the source issues a 1099-M, 1099-C, pays thru an annuity, is oil/gas/mineral royalty, rights, or pays a legally agreed to settlement….. IT IS INCOME and required to be reported. LTC application somewhere had a paragraph or two as to all info valid and nothing known was omitted with a penalty if not done. LSS you are going to have to report this and imo the actions you took to cash the checks out so no deposit trail of $ into moms bank account makes you look suspect to be deliberately hiding assets or being misleading or your financially illiterate. Whichever it is, well imo it is not a good look for someone who aims to be POA. Just sayin’.
Find an atty to represent you & mom and ASAP.
You obviously need some money going INTO the checking account to PAY that monthly premium, correct? That premium should come from mom’s income, NOT yours. So wouldn’t it be a legit use of the monthly $300.00 workers comp money to pay that insurance premium?
Also, a bit off topic, but since the NH is directly collecting ALL of mom’s (known) income, shouldn’t there be an account for mom at NH where they place funds for YOU to use to purchase personal items that mom may need/want? They should be providing a detailed monthly accounting of that “Account” as well as her actual Cost of Care in the NH - that begins on the date they began collecting every cent of mom and dad’s money for payment of her care.
From what I understand, there is a stipend always earmarked for personal needs (from Social Security, at least). In New York, I am legally permitted to “withhold” $50.00 per month from my Aunt’s Social Security to spend on her. The rest I submit to the NH for her Medicaid LTC. The NH does NOT collect her RMDs directly. The RMD’s are sent to my Aunt’s checking account (as her POA I am a signer), and I use those checking funds for things like depends, to pay a part-time aide in the NH, nightgowns, treats, Medicare supplemental premium, etc.
I am also permitted to retain a certain amount of cash assets in her non-retirement accounts at all times. The permitted cash asset amounts differ depending on which state your loved one resides in.
When G-D calls my beloved Aunt home, I assume that whatever small amount remains in her retirement accounts will likely be claimed by the Nursing Home… not that they’ve actually been kind or attentive enough to deserve it.
Thus far, the paperwork I’ve submitted for the original Medicaid LTC approval (5-year look back) and subsequent first year Recertification have been approved, thank G-D. I submitted the second year Recertification at the end of September, but no word yet. I pray there are no issues, tho’ no matter right now. My dear Aunt fell last week and fractured her hip, so we’re starting over I guess. I don’t know.
I hope I’ve made sense? Sorry to be so wordy. Hard week.
Warmly,
JB
I just reread your post, ignoring the $300 workers comp issue.
Are you saying that you basically asked the NH a hypothetical question about what would happen to mom if something were to happen to you and there was no other family or look after mom… and the NH immediately jumped toward Guardianship? As if you had done something WRONG or mistreated mom??? If this is how it played out, this is unbelievable!
Just Wow… if this is the case, it just seems that you have been completely railroaded. I don’t know that the ultimate outcome would have been any different, but retaining your position as POA and having what I think is called a “Personal Care Trust” related to mom’s excess income, allows you to retain a portion of mom’s income for her other needs, I believe. I don’t believe they can simply do a money grab the way they’ve done. However, I’m only familiar with one state, so I could be completely wrong.
I really hope you can get the help you need and deserve to untangle this disturbing situation. You and your mom deserve a more peaceful and kind process.
warmly,
JB