PLEASE HELP! Urgent Situation With My Mom In California.
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Anonymous
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Please help. I need urgent advice.
I (single mom of 2) live here in VA. My mom (65 yrs old single woman) lives in CA. She used to work at the airport but lost her job at the beginning of this month due to COVID-19. She immediately filed for unemployment but the unemployment system is overwhelmed and she has not heard anything back. My uncle in a different state (mom's brother) suggested that she file for early retirement social security benefits, which she did. I believe the age is 66 to get full benefits but since she's 65 she can file now and take a reduced payment. My mom has been corresponding with the social security retirement benefits fits people over the phone and they have indicated that her first payout will start in May. In the meantime my mom has lost her apartment and she is currently homeless. She has been sleeping out of her pickup truck but it broke down yesterday. She rented a UHAUL and slept in the UHAUL while the truck was getting fixed at the shop. She picked the truck up from the shop today and drove it for a few hours before it stopped working again this evening. She is currently sitting in a shopping center parking lot inside of her disabled vehicle. When I pressed her for details about her truck mom says it's a 2010 GM Canyon with 253K miles on it. WTF!!? When I asked about vehicle history mom said that the truck has started to break down alot over the past couple years and that she's put approximately $5K worth of repairs into it. When I strongly suggested to my mom that she purchase a more reliable used vehicle cle with less mileage she responded that a) she has no job and no place to live at the moment and b) in order to collect her full social security retirement benefits she cannot have more than $5k in assets(ie bank accounts, cars etc.) My mom is literally homeless and living out of a broke down truck right now and I'm freaking out. I'm trying to see how I can help her but it's hard being all the way over here in VA with limited financial resources. I drive an older model paid off car bc I didn't want a car payment but right now I'm thinking the best thing I can do for mom is to buy her a used vehicle and make the monthly payments for her so at least she has a reliable vehicle to sleep in. What I'm trying to figure out is if I buy the car online and have it delivered to her in California will she have trouble registering the car in CA and obtaining insurance since the title will be in the banks name until I can pay it off and then ultimately in my name since she can't own assets over $5K? I literally can not sleep from the stress of this situation and to make matters worse my mom told me that she's been riding the LA public transit buses to pass time since she has no where else to go. I asked her to please stay away from the public buses as they could be breeding grounds for her to catch COVID-19. This whole situation is a mess and I'm trying to figure out the best thing to do to help my with limited financial resources s while being all the way over here in VA. Can anyone offer advice or suggestions? |
Anonymous
| You’re both single moms and you both have limited incomes. Buy her a ticket tonight to come to VA and use her SSI benefits to upgrade to a smaller rental for you, her and your kids. |
Anonymous
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I'm confused why she had no savings. And I'm suspicious of you saying that she lost her job at the beginning of April and it's now April 28/9 and she's homeless.
Being evicted is a process. |
Anonymous
| Does she need a car at all? Can you pay rent for her in a cheap motel/single room type of situation for a month or so until she starts receiving benefits? I would think that would be way more beneficial than sleeping in a car! |
Anonymous
Before COVID-19 hit my mom was already scheduled to come visit her grandchildren for two weeks at the beginning of June. So she's already scheduled to come in June (hopefully) if the airline doesn't cancel her flight. I'm going to try to pursuade her to stay when she comes to visit. |
Anonymous
Why do you have to be judgy and scrutinize everything? OP never said she lost the apartment due to the COVID job loss. Plus, she didn’t have savings, not everybody is good with money. Is that news to you? Be helpful or be quiet. Sheesh. |
Anonymous
+1. This is what I would do. I live in LA and rent is prohibitively expensive. She will be better off pooling her resources with yours in VA. |
Anonymous
Don’r wait until June—pay a change fee and have her come asap. |
Anonymous
| I’m sorry for your mom‘s distress. There is no asset testing on social security income - it’s based on your age and history of earnings/work. There is no discussion of what you own or finances you have. What kind of vehicle she has does not affect SS qualification or income, just depends on what she’s paid into SS from her prior employment over the years. Has she applied for some other sort of compensation instead of SS that does means testing? Taking SS before her full age will cost her money over the rest of her life, may not be best short term decision if she’s close to full benefits age. Could you fly her out to stay with you for awhile until things can get sorted out? Sounds like there is more to this story, for her to be homeless with nobody around to help her there. Perhaps there are homeless shelters that can help her get back on her feet and offer housing and food? |
Anonymous
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There’s a statewide moratorium on evictions in CA (currently) through May 31st. There may be more going on with your mom and her previous living situation (or it’s possible she was taken advantage of). Are you certain that she was living alone?
Are you certain she was working recently? Regardless of the problems behind this situation I’m not sure a used car would be the best use of financial resources. I would look up resources for transient individuals in the city she’s located in currently in CA and see what resources exist. It may be possible to get a space at a shelter or a hostel. Aside from that it would seem better to spend the money on trying to get her to a city where a family member lives, now that she’s filed for early retirement. |
Anonymous
| PP and I don’t want to imply judgment. Just I’ve been there before with situations that were more complex than they first appeared. |
Anonymous
| It sounds like you are confusing Social Security with SSI. Your mom qualifies for Social Security Retirement at 65 and there isn’t an asset maximum. |
Anonymous
Seriously an airline change fee - or even a brand new flight will be cheaper than buying her a new car. |
Anonymous
I asked about her financial situation and she has about $2K in savings left after paying to get her truck out of the shop. She was a food service worker inside of the airport terminal and she didn't make alot of money to begin with. To clarify she lost her apartment (a mother in law type accessory apartment) before COVID -19 hit. Apparently she had been using the gym to shower each day but hasn't been able to shower since the gym closed down due to COVID back in March. Our relationship has been strained and she's prideful and has been keeping the reality of her situation from me so I'm just learning alot of these details over the last 24 hours. |
Anonymous
Unfortunately I cannot afford to pay for a room or motel for her for a month but I can afford to pay a $250-350 car payment for her each month with some adjustments on my end. |