I'm one of the oldies--live alone-cook my meals-pay my bills- I'm on ss and wow !! I play the lottery, what else can we do. Oh ya, I even forget at times what I opened the fridge for. Another thing-I drive and even go to the casino once in a while. Do I win ?? Heck no, but I'm not gonna quit because someone don't like how I spend my ss.Unless I'm asking someone for help-it's my business and my money.
My mom was spending ALL of her monthly SS check on lottery tickets. She wasn't paying her rent & getting eviction notices, got dropped from her Part D mess for non payment AND pays hundreds monthly in bounced check fees. She agreed to apply to Social Security for me to be her Representative Payee. Now her check is deposited into a bank account that only I control. I pay all her bills and keep her on budget. It's more work, but I don't have to worry about her financial well being.
Go to the Social Security Administration and ask to be appointed his Representative Payee. It is a simple process that gives you the authority to makes sure his check is spent to benefit his health and well-being. I know --- I was the Representative Payee for my son about 10 years. He has had mental health issues that created a problem with him handling his money responsibly. Just recently he was deemed by his Dr to be capable of handling his own money and that's the only way someone with a Representative Payee can put an end to it.
I would first get Durable and Medical POA. Then I would have him evaluated by his doctor to see if he is competent to handle his affairs in a business like manner. Then, I have that doctor sign a letter stating that and why which he will need to get notarized. Last, I'd take the durable POA and the letter to the bank and then take charge of his finances.
You might want to have a discussion with the Adult Protective services of dept. of social services. They may be able to intervene with the bank to assure his needs are covered first. Just a guess, I don't really know.
Unless this is new behavior for your father indicating some sort of mental issue, then he's just one of the millions of people who spend money they don't have in order to win money they didn't earn. How do you stop someone who's younger from doing the same thing? You can't. Sorry.
I agree with you nheaton, my grma used to play the lottery a lot. Nobody ever tried to stop her, she was handeling her own money, it was one of the few pleasures she still had. It may not be what you would do with your s.s. check but its not at all uncommon for them to do it. As a matter of fact It was kinda funny on check day to see all the old women in the store eal early in the a.m. getting their scratchers tickets, theyed scratch them off right in the store sometimes so they could turn in there small winnings for more tickets lol:) its probably nothing to worry about.
Gosh that seems harsh, if all he is doing is playing the lottery. Unless there are other reasons to think that he may have something nurological going on. People play lottery in spells sometimes, they dream big,spend more than they should realize they arnt going to win,and go on to dream about other things. It may pass. And you may have a hard time convincing people he needs a poa because he buys lotto tickets. This is also a huge undertaking,its not easy taking cares of someones finaces along with your own. I would make sure it is really needed before I take on that responsibility. And if he is of sound mind, you may not want the animosity it might create in even trying. So I would think hard. Its hard enough on them when they start loosing there independence. Playing lottery might be his way of realiving stress. Just some things to think about:)((hugs))
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