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My father has dementia and is in a nursing home in VA. I have POA. His house has been sold and I live in PA. For income taxes etc. and his retirement benefits info for the company he worked for, is the nursing home in VA considered his offical/permanent address? I am in the process of proving to his "company" that I am POA but they are asking for...Permanent address, Pension check mailing address and alternative address. His pension check is auto deposit to his bank account.

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I assume so. Where I live, the people living in nursing homes use that as their legal address to register to vote.
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I’m going to say it’s his legal residence but not his mailing address. That would be your address.

I had a little experience with this for my DH Aunt but hers is not as complicated as both addresses were in the same state. I would not want anything as important as you describe being mailed to the NH. If everything can be done electronically, then that’s a thought.I would probably contact the IRS or CPA and ask and then contact the human resources or company benefits contact and find out your options. I suspect both will be your address.
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Yes, it is his legal residence. This is now where he lives.
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Yes it’s his legal place of residence .
As POA you can have his mail go to you . My father in law with dementia loses mail , so all his important mail comes to our house , my husband is POA. My husband made our house the mailing address.
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MarcStephen Nov 16, 2023
Thanks so much for taking the time to help. Also, Did you have to do anything with the SSA as far as benefits? His check is auto-deposited to his bank and I am on his checking account and write out checks from his account to the NH. The money is used only for him and his expences. His NH is being paid out of pocket from years of savings. Then once the money is gone we will have to relocate him to PA to a NH that accepts mediCAID closer to us.
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Under no circumstances have his mail sent to the nursing home. It'll disappear.

Your address is his mailing address.
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If that's where he lives 24/7/365 then that is his residence. My MIL has been in different facilities since 2016. Those were always her permanent addresses. We have all her mail routed to our house since my husband in her PoA. But on all her essential documents, it's the facility's address.
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MarcStephen Nov 16, 2023
Thanks so much for taking the time to help. Also, Did you have to do anything with the SSA as far as benefits? His check is auto-deposited to his bank and I am on his checking account and write out checks from his account to the NH. The money is used only for him and his expences. His NH is being paid out of pocket from years of savings. Then once the money is gone we will have to relocate him to PA to a NH that accepts mediCAID closer to us.
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Oh, yes, have her mail sent to you. Since my Mom was on Medicaid, Medicaid paperwork went to the home. As did SS and pension info since the NH was Moms payee. Cards to went to the home but her bills came to my house because she still had a house.
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That is a question for you to ask each entity as you work through setting up your files and taking on this difficult and onerous task. If your experience mirrors mine, you have a lot of phone wait time coming.

Often you will be told to provide them with his address, stipulating that this is a nursing home resident, and with the mailing address which should now be to your home.
I did this work for my brother as I was POA and Trustee of Trust and took over all accounts and finances for him. I lived at one end of California and he at the other. It took a good YEAR with a very very good POA written well by an attorney to get things ironing out as to mailing addresses and etc. IRS and SS and Medicare was the most difficult, as normal POA doesn't apply for them. My brother had to be competent enough to request mailings go to me. Other entities did recognize the POA but I was busy delivering and copying POA/Trusts for a year. Once done things ran more smoothly, but wow, what a job, and that with a very easily managed estate.
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As guardian and conservator for my mom, all mail came as. Person's name, then c/o me plus my address.
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Marc
One other thought on this topic. After my DH aunt went Into the NH I failed to check with the NH admin to make sure they would only put personal mail like cards in her room and forward or hold any other mail for me. (someone has to open her cards and read them but she enjoys getting them).
I am POA and they have a copy of the POA. she has dementia. I kept thinking it was odd I hadn’t received certain documents. One day I asked the NH if they had any mail for aunt. Oh yes, here in this file they said. 🤨
My take on it was they are accustomed to receiving all the mail for many of their patients and didn’t think it was unusual that they received it. So you might ask what the procedure is for your father at his home if you haven’t already.
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MarcStephen Nov 15, 2023
Thanks so much for taking the time to help. Also, Did you have to do anything with the SSA as far as benefits? His check is auto-deposited to his bank and I am on his checking account and write out checks from his account to the NH. The money is used only for him and his expences. His NH is being paid out of pocket from years of savings. Then once the money is gone we will have to relocate him to PA to a NH that accepts mediCAID closer to us.
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Yes, the nursing home is his official residence but all of his mail is supposed to be coming to your address because you are his POA.

He should not ever receive any piece of mail other than a greeting card or catalog at the nursing home.

His residence is the nursing home. His mailing address is wherever his POA says it is.
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MarcStephen Nov 16, 2023
Thank you for your help.
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Marc,

You will want to move Dad to a nursing home near you BEFORE he runs out of money so you can choose the nursing home . They want private pay for at least 6 months or maybe a year in order to get in the one you choose . ( Double check on that time frame with homes . I haven’t placed anyone in SNF in years ). Choose one that will take Medicaid after Dad eventually runs out of money . Probably should move him sooner rather than later .
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MarcStephen Nov 16, 2023
Thanks for the info. I contacted a local NH that takes medicaid and took a tour etc. I had a meeting with the admin woman and explained everything about my father, they are currently full and low staffed, but said once he has a minimum of 3 months of savings left I am to contact her and she could get things going to get him a spot. We currently have about 7-8 months of savings left. She said that they would handle most if not all the transfers of his retirement, SSA etc. as they would become the payee.
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Marc
No… you don’t need to change anything with his social security at this point. In fact social security doesn’t recognize POAs. It is best to leave it as you have it for now. I would leave it all auto deposit for the time he is off medicaid.

Since you have some time, please do go and visit more than one facility. Also look for small care homes. With your dads VA benefits, pension and social security he might not have to go on Medicaid and his savings might last longer. Private pay in a nursing home is usually the most expensive alternative.
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Hi- I moved my mom from CO to CA in Sep 2023. She’s now in her 2nd AL facility. Here’s what I recommend: If a physical address is required, you can provide the AL address, but I would not recommend directing any mail to the facility (esp important and financial documents). Use your address as “mailing” for everything, including tax returns (you can differentiate between “physical” and “mailing” for IRS and probably for state as well). Even accounts that are direct pay or direct deposit should have a current mailing address, particularly the pension as they will send a year end tax form. Hope that helps. Since taxes are determined, in large part, by residency, the physical address is crucial for only a few key determinations.
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I changed my friend-companion's address to mine.
Everything is delivered to me.
And I managed everything so I had to get all his mail.
He was unable to manage mail for many years.

You may need to contact an attorney if taxes are involved.
I, too, was a POA and everything else - not no taxes involved.

Gena / Touch Matters
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MarcStephen: Yes, the nursing home is his official residence. However, as you are his 'agent' in POA, all mail with the exception of greeting cards should be coming to you.
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Geaton777 Nov 19, 2023
You can't tell the Post Office to reroute only greeting cards. Either all the mail is rerouted or none of it.
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My mother's assisted living asked that all her mail be delivered to my address and none be sent there. Plus being her POA I use my address for everything, taxes, pension, health insurance etc. and it hasn't caused any problems. Being that she has dementia it would prove problematic if any important documents were delivered to her and I wasn't able to see them.
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Hello, my mom is in a 24 hr care home now. We both reside in the same state. 4 years ago she received all her mail at the AL home at that time. (I am also co-trustee and POA for financial matters). After she started questioning her banking etc., and made a few phone calls back then, I changed her address to my home so I get everything now. Her friends have her current physical address so she gets any greeting cards sent there. But all financial, tax and business matters are sent to me. Hope that helps!
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Sorry to hear of your father's illness. To answer your question,
"Yes. The care facility is his permanent address."

Be aware that if his care is being paid for by state MEDICAID to any degree: (Or, if your father usn't getting medicaid, then perhaps the info below will help someone else who is on medicaid.)

1. ALL of your father's monies are supposed to be sent to the healthcare facility to pay his expenses there and offset some of the expense medicaid is paying. If you have POA and you don't send his monies DIRECTLY there, (you can't deposit it in his account then send them a check ir keep the money) it is considered a violation if medicaid rules and there could be a penality when it's discovered. (A full disclosure of all assets is required to deter.ine eligibility). Medicaid perfers to use all of the patient's money first, then they pay the balance.
2. MEDICAID WILL SEEK TO REIMBURSE ITSELF from your father's estate after he passes. They will look to collect from most all of his assets and especially from his home by placing a lein on it after ge passes. Even if it is sold, they still look back 5 years before his passing, for any assets that were sold during that time to see if they can find anything that was wrongfully sold to avoid them).
(A few things are exempt.)
3. To protect assets from medicaid before he passes, some assets may be transferred to his heirs now, and some can be put in an irrevocable trust for his heirs.
An estate attorney can better direct you on this. Or even your local medicaid office will give you sound advice on what you can and cannot do with assets.
Take care.
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MarcStephen Nov 20, 2023
Thank you for the info. Here is the break down of the situation: Father and mother live in Virginia (VA). I live in Pennsylvania (PA)..four hours away. Father was put in a NH 3 years ago in VA. Mother recently passed away in May. They had a large life savings put in a checking/savings account. I am on both accounts and can write out checks etc. So the NH is currently being paid out of pocket from the savings. I keep records of all spending and everything goes towards my fathers expenses. The current NH does not accept mediCAID so with my parents home in the process of being sold there will be about a year left of paying the current NH in VA from the savings. I am currently looking into two NH in PA that do accept mediCAID so when the saving is almost gone I can move father to PA. Fathers only gets pension and SS retirement and both are auto deposit into the bank account. Both NH's in PA are currently full and low staffed, but the one said to contact them when the savings gets down to a 3 month left to pay the current NH and they could start the process to get him in. It is so sad that the system is the way it is. I believe that our elderly should not have to worry about such things and the children can't even have time to mourn. Again thanks for the info and anyone else that comes across this post.
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Also, Marc,
Be aware that when you told his "company" that he is in a nursing home, they went into "business mode" and asked for his "permanent" address because they already know that his pension check, and all of his other monies should be sent to the nursing home. Your father's tax records must reflect that that's where his checks are sent also.

I notice others are replying about personal, and social mail. As POA, You can control where that goes. It doesn't matter.

But money and assets are a different "animal" to be dealt with according to state laws.

Take Care.
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