I went through the fuduciary process two years ago, and have had no problems until today.
Dad's monthly check (all of which covers his bills) didn't get deposited. When I called, I was told that it went to the fiduciary. I have no idea who this person is or how they got involved.
I spent two hours on the phone trying to get information, and apparently, a letter was sent out (I still don't know the subject matter) two weeks ago to an address that I haven't lived at for two years regarding this change. WHAT?!?!
I gave them my new address, but now I have to wait to get the letters in order to take the next step? So, right now, checks are bouncing all over the place, and I have no idea WHERE Dad's money is, WHO has it, or WHEN I can get it back.
Thankfully, Dad has a small amount of savings that I can dip into (and break my promise to him not to touch it) to cover me in the meantime, but WTH?!?!
I will happily provide documentation for how I spend Dad's (and MY own money!! HELLO!!! I work two jobs to take care of Dad) money, but it seems really unfair that his bills are going unpaid because of their administrative error!!
RIDICULOUS!!!
Then, this occurs in the middle of this relocation of your dad is doubly stinky (trying not to get censored).
“Misuse of funds”? Me thinks this stemmed from last month when it was determined your father should not have been in Adult Day Care provided by the VA during your care call, am I correct?
It’s not a coincidence,Ms Tiny....
Once stuff settles, try to get it so that it’s no longer VA assigned fiduciary oversight but instead you become complete fiduciary.
Oh & the reason why, is apparently because POAs are viewed as a state created & state specific document. It’s also why the bigger banks that are in multiple states or nationwide totally do foot dragging on letting DPOAs even with clear financial power to do anything. And then bigger banks do the “we require a springing” document to attach to the DPOA as a cya.
Really for Anyone reading this, when it’s federal try to do anything first & foremost on line with your elder.
I am agog to hear, when you track this person down, how the proposed fiduciary will go about paying your father's bills when s/he doesn't know what they are...?
I assume the office refused to give you a contact name or number, did they? I'm just wondering how long and how many attempts it might take for the replacement letter to reach your new address. Not that I mean to make you feel worse :(
Abuse of a VA. And abuse of the system. Incompetence. Aged related. Anything you can think of. The fact that you work two jobs to pay both of your ways. etc. etc.
And very good luck to you both. It is disgusting.
The information he has is wrong, and he proceeded to ask me "Where is the $800 deficit coming from?" I LIVIDLY told him that it comes from my bank account and if I would have been INFORMED of this change, checks wouldn't be bouncing like goodyear tires right now...
Needless to say, I got ZERO work done today, and I'm due to move Dad Friday. It never ends...
Is he correcting HIS ERROR straight away?
Resort back to Linda22 suggestion.
Tiny - didn’t you deposit into dads account so he had $ to cover checks? That too could trigger an issue. As it looks like “income” and any income change must be reported....yada yada.... For my mom, the last month before filing for NH Medicaid, it was a flurry getting stuff moved through for spend down. & mom was going to be about $200.00 short, so I wrote a check to cover it & deposited into her checking account. She (me as her dpoa) got an employment questionnaire from Medicaid around month 4 in the process asking about her sources of income & employment. Did not occur to me that the $200 triggered the letter, so I went into a snarky what I thought funny lengthy rant on the questionnaire about the status on companies mom worked for in the 1940’s - 1960’s and when they ceased to exist (like Woolworths, Joske’s of Texas, etc.) The caseworker (laughing thankfully, he fondly remembered the Xmas pilgrimage to Joskes Winter Wonderland which everyone in So Texas did at some point) called me....it was about the $200. Oh well..... Medicaid since its state, has boots on ground local caseworker to speak to. But I bet VA is like Medicare & NFIP, it’s all centralized federal document driven with tight timeframes. You rarely have one on one phone communication until it’s too late.
Well, I had to put all of that on the back burner and get Dad moved, but it appears that I made just enough noise with the right people. Once I explained that I would have gladly submitted paperwork had I known that I needed to and that I am more than happy to document every red cent I spend on Dad, there was a "miraculous" change of heart.
I received a call Friday from the Field Investigation Office Director who pretty much admitted that the person who did my initial fiduciary certification screwed up. The guy basically filled out the paperwork for me and told me to sign. He did not explain the ins and outs, penalties, ramifications at ALL!
He then stated that the person who should have contacted me when they couldn't reach me via mail reported that they contacted me but "couldn't recall" when she reached out or provide a phone number.
Soooo... now I have to do the entire process again... for two years!!!! Since the silly person who did my first assessment didn't clearly explain that I could not combine Dad's VA income with other money, I am basically doing to have to manually pull out what I did with it. Thankfully, the ALF bill exceeds his income, so that will be an easy one.
It's just a complete Pain in the ARSE to have to do this because THEY screwed up. This manager apologized profusely for how I was treated and admitted that he had no inclination at all that I was doing anything malicious.
BUT.... once this is over, I think I will let the silly government do it (at a fee, of course -- more money I have to shell out), just to avoid the hassle. If I could wring the Adult Day Care guy's neck I would. Because HE was dishonest (not letting me know that I was breaking a VA rule by using the Daycare benefit AND having dad in ALF), I'm paying the price.
UNBELIEVABLE!!!!
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