Reply to Deciphering termination clause in care home contract

Forum Index » Eldercare

Reply to "Deciphering termination clause in care home contract"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]My mother passed away earlier this year in another state, and my siblings and I are trying to wrap up the last of the financial outstanding items. She died in mid February. We had paid for room and board and caregiving fees for that entire month to the small, family-run group care home where she had lived since the fall. She was very happy living there, and they took good care of her.

The room and board and caregiving charge totaled over $10,000 per month. I'm reading through the contract now, to try and determine if her estate should have received a refund of any amount, for the days her room she was no longer there. It's not clear to me, because on the one hand it mentions 30 days notice, and on the other hand it talks about refunds being owed for days when neither a resident nor their belongings are in a room. They had waived the deposit requirement when she moved in, so that part is not applicable. Any lawyers or others on here who can parse this language?

"A. Termination by Resident and Refund Policy 
The Resident may terminate this agreement at any time, regardless of cause, by giving the Facility 30 (thirty) days advance notice in writing. This notice is deemed to have been given automatically on the date of the Resident’s death. 
If the Resident dies or is hospitalized and then transferred to another facility for more appropriate care, and does not return to the Facility, then the Facility shall comply with the following refund requirements: 
1. The Facility shall refund any deposit or charges already paid, less the Facility’s per diem rate for the days the Resident actually resided or reserved (when permitted) or retained a bed; as well as personal belongings; in the Facility. In an effort to mitigate the number of days that the Resident is considered to have retained a bed and personal belongings, the Facility will make reasonable efforts to store personal items that are left at the Facility following a transfer when specifically requested in writing by the Resident or the Resident’s Representative. 
2. In addition to the amount retained under subparagraph 1, the Facility may retain an additional amount to cover its reasonable, actual expenses incurred as a result of the Resident’s move, not to exceed 14 (fourteen) days per diem charges. The Facility may not retain this additional amount if the Resident has given the written 30 (thirty) days advance notice. 
The Facility shall refund any amount due to the Resident or his or her legal representative, less charges for damage beyond normal and reasonably foreseeable wear and tear caused by the Resident, within 30 (thirty) days of the Resident’s death, discharge, or transfer. The Facility shall provide to the Resident or the Resident’s legal representative an explanation of any charges retained by the Facility. "

It feels a little awkward to ask the care home itself (I assume they don't believe they owe us anything, given that more than 30 days has passed and we haven't received any refund). The care home's owner offered to pack up and mail her personal items to the family (it was a handful of boxes), which cost them some time and money. It took a few weeks to receive the boxes, but I know that her room was emptied of these things within just a few days of her death, and they were stored elsewhere in the house.

FWIW, it was a quick-turnaround, overnight emergency placement when she moved in in the fall, which they handled very well. We're very grateful to them for all that, and they would have also had to pay a commission to the placement agency that connected us with them, so personally, I'm partly inclined to just let it go even if they do technically owe her estate a refund. [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics