Service that helps elderly pay bills/ maintain financial health?
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Anonymous
| My mother is 83 and has mild, but worsening, dementia. My sister moved in with her after my father died, and she takes care of most of my mother's needs with the assistance of a nurse's aide while my sister is at work. We would all like for my mother to be able to live at home as long as possible. The problem we are facing now is on-time paying of her bills. My mother is very private and stubborn about finances, and is uncomfortable letting family members help her pay bills. She has the money to pay them, but she no longer has the mental wherewithal to pay them all on time. We recently had a scare when she didn't pay a property tax bill on time. My sister's attempts to take over the bill paying has been met with refusal. Before resorting to power of attorney, I would like to see if my mother would agree to... an accountant? A financial planner? I think what she needs is a monthly bill paying service (I am not sure what bills, if any, she would be willing to have auto-paid), plus someone (outside the family) to be on top of her general financial health. She loves to send money to any charity that sends her a sob letter, so someone who could also advise her to limit that (again, outside of family) would be ideal. What option(s) should I offer her before resorting to power of attorney? This is not my forte. |
Anonymous
| See if Legal Counsel for the Elderly might have some online resources as a starting point. Here are some more resources that might lead you to some ideas: http://www.chevychaseathome.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=559717&module_id=111640. |
Anonymous
Thanks so much. That's very helpful. |
Anonymous
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Does she live in an area with a village, where the emphasis is on elderly people staying in their homes, and neighbors help take them to doctor's appointments, pay bills, etc.? Here are some examples: Cleveland Park Village, Northwest Neighbors Village, Palisades Village.
http://www.palisadesvillage.org/ http://nwnv.org/ http://www.clevelandparkvillage.org/ They could probably help. |
Anonymous
| OP, also call the state Office on Aging/Elderly and try to track down information for the locality (county or town.) My dad is 80 and has mild dementia, and bill paying definitely becomes hard. Beyond just remembering to pay the bills, he had trouble remembering how to write a check - he was signing on the wrong line etc etc. He is very functional in a lot of ways, so this was particularly embarrassing for him. You can set up a lot of payments to go automatically if funds aren't super tight, but it's still hard because sometimes someone in this situation will try to write a check for bills that are already paid when they receive a notice. Honestly someone really needs to have power of attorney ASAP, for emergencies at minimum, even if you find another route to manage your mother's bill paying for the foreseeable future. The state and local agencies can be really helpful with guidance/suggestions, and also with recommending nonprofit groups that can work directly with you or your mother. Good luck! |
Anonymous
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I know I sometimes get emails from my city government looking for volunteers to help elderly/disabled people with their financial management, so you may want to start with her local office of adult services (or equivalent) to see what they offer?
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