Long story short. My elderly mom has some dementia and is in a rehab facility. My step father is in the hospital. Both of them need to go to long term care very soon. Case workers aren’t very helpful. I’m having difficulty gathering bank statements etc. is there an agency that helps gather the information? I’m beginning to panic.
If you are not already DPOA for both of them & with some sort of existing relationship (like your a signature on the account) with their bank, then getting documentation from the bank will be near to impossible is my experience. Medicaid is going to also want their “awards letters” like from SS and whatever else retirement sources they have. The awards letters are sent out like in Nov -Dec that state to the penny what their SS & pensions are paying for the incoming year; both Medicaid & the NH uses these to determine to the penny what the required copay to the facility will be. Unless you can actually find these for each of them at their house, getting them from SSA will be impossible as SSA does NOT recognize DPOA. (yeah a ton of fun there....). Ditto for federal retirements. Most other pensions will recognize DPOA.
If he’s gonna night back home, that a whole other dynamic to Medicaid as he becomes a community spouse & there’s financial issues for CS that are uniquely a CS issue.
To me you kinda want to get an atty on board ASAP & before they submit a Medicaid application as it allows them to still be in some control of their $. Once submitted their considered “Medicaid Pending” and they must pay the facility basically all their monthly income each mo less a smallish personal needs allowance (my mom’s was $60 a mo). If you pay for atty, they cannot easily reimburse you as it looks like gifting....
Atty willl likely suggest all sorts of changes in addition to getting through Medicaid. Like get their wills & life insurance changed so they are NOT each other’s beneficiary as that can give them assets that take them over Medicaid’s limits.
I’m assuming that you’ll be the point person for them both. But if his kids are doing his, I’d suggest you join forces and get the same atty (CELA or NAELA) to do a overall review on the situation for them both. Good luck and remember to take time for yourself.
As for bank statements, usually the bank where the statements had originated will be able to get you copies. There might be a charge.
Or is the issue just trying to figure out what banks your Mom had been using going back 5 years? Some folks will change banks on a whim. And that can create a bit of a headache. Then there is the issue of banks joining other banks and creating a new name :P
If Mom had to do IRS Income Taxes over the past 5 years or so, "interest" on checking/savings accounts would be listed on those income taxes, thus the names of the banks.