Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Fax, Email, MIA, Lawyer

This week, I am inundated with paperwork/financial type chores that have everything to do with Dad. Because I am his Power of Attorney, I am in charge! Chaaaaarge! Probably the most annoying of all these chores is dealing with Collections and Dad's hospital bills from when he ran away back in April. I gotta say though, I'm learning a lot.

FAX:
His medical coverage consists of the VA and Medicare Part A - both of which typically don't cover Emergency services. Dad's bills from his run-away incident on April 11th add up to almost $8000 including the Ambulance Ride. The VA may cover these expenses if the incident is associated with an ailment that they have been treating him for (like Alzheimer's). Since nothing happens very quickly through the VA, Collections is now calling me about his Ambulance Bill, but of course they won't tell me anything until I fax them the POA... WHICH I did two weeks ago, but they never got it. So, I'm going to fax them again.
I am also faxing a letter to Dad's mortgage company. His mortgage is currently paid through an automatic payment, but since he is selling his mobile home, it is also being paid through Dad's escrow... so we're double paying. They need a letter signed by me to discontinue the automatic payment.

EMAIL:
Furthermore, I've been dealing with Dad's home insurance as well! Now, with this particular document I was able to scan and email it back, so that saved me a fax, but I spent almost an entire hour trying to get the correct person on the phone that could answer my questions.

MIA (missing in action):
Lastly, I'm supposed to get another check for Dad from Morgan Stanley so that he can pay next month's rent, but I haven't heard back from them. They're usually very prompt, so I'm not sure what is going on with that. I know things are tough around the holidays, but I gotta say this is a strange one. We need that check before the 5th of next month to pay his rent!

Lawyer:
Next week we are meeting with a Lawyer who specializes in Elder Law so we should be getting a better idea on how Dad is doing financially and what we need to do to make sure that when his money runs out, everything goes smoothly. We estimated that Dad has about 10 more months of Whittier Place before he can't afford it anymore... but we'll know more after we meet with the Lawyer.

2 comments:

  1. Boy can I relate:) Try having a dual POA like my sister & I have where both of us have to be present to do anything. And then, one bank just refused to acknowledge a "dual" POA - for no reason. Just a thought, have you checked in to the Aid & Attendance pension through the VA? We applied and got it for both parents since they were both Vets and it was more than the pension from the VA they were receiving. Hang in there & keep smiling!

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  2. Lisa,
    Thanks for the comment... I can't even imagine trying to deal with a dual POA!!! Wow! We'll have to look into the Aid & Attendance pension that you mentioned... I've never heard of that. Thanks!

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