Mom and I share a joint bank account, but it is her money. She has Alzheimer's and dementia and we are now putting a plan in action to help her. She will receive hospice at home which will require her paying for a private aide 24/7. Until we find an aide, she has been living with me temporarily, but the plan is to move her back into her apartment. She does have long-term care insurance, but I have started to take money out of her account to pay for aides that I have used up until the point we get her permanently settle back into her apartment. I usually pay for items with my credit card and at the end of the week, I tally up what I've spent in different categories and write myself a check for each category as a reimbursement. Should I be handling this in a different manner? I am keeping careful records and receipts. Also, should I prepay her funeral? Their are a number of expenses that have arisen until her long-term care kicks in. I'm wondering if I should with draw the money and open a special account that will just go towards her needs or can I keep going with this system. Thanks for any input.
I actually wasn't crazy about writing myself checks for reimbursement even though I kept careful records and receipts. My solution was a bit on the shady side but with the DPOA not illegal. I used my moms Visa card whenever I could get away with it. So anything I ordered online and at my usual grocery store where they knew me well and they had the swipe machined - I knew the clerk would never ask to see the card. I always had a copy of the DPOA in my purse - crazy, I know - but if asked to see the Visa card and the name/signature wasn't mine - I could show the DPOA- but that whole scenario would have been a hassle. So I kept purchases under the signature limit and the problem never came up. Like I said - a little bit shady, and I'm sure the Visa company would have been less than thrilled with my technique.
I had 24/7 professional caregivers from an Agency for my Dad, once my Mom had passed, and the cost was very expensive, $20k per month in my area. I used an Agency because if a caregiver wasn't able to make his/her shift, the Agency always found a back-up person.