{2:05 minutes to read} About six months ago, I was referred by an attorney to Sally and Judy. Their parents are on Community Medicaid, and their bills must be paid through a pooled trust. The reason the attorney referred me to Sally and Judy is because they needed some help with the process of dealing with the trust.
While not rocket science, using a pooled income trust can be time consuming. Bills have to be sent in to the trust—in this case CDR (Center for Disability Rights)—along with a cover sheet explaining what the bill is for. Typically, I advise my clients to pay as much as possible by credit card. This allows you to send the credit card invoice, rather than sending in individual receipts each with its own cover sheet. Not only is it easier, it’s more efficient in that it cuts down on the number of checks that the trust has to cut, leading to additional cost savings. Of course, all the individual receipts need to be kept in case there is a question in the future.
Since Sally and Judy had their hands full with other responsibilities for the parents, they were grateful that we could help with managing the pooled trust. They had some other concerns for their parents. One concern was that it was difficult getting their parents to doctor appointments. The other was that their 93-year-old father wanted to go out, but he’s difficult to handle, as he doesn’t walk well.
Going Above & Beyond
As a member of the Orion Resource Group, I have a network of individuals and companies that are involved in all aspects of geriatric care. Through Orion, I’ve been able to connect the family with AIM Housecalls, which provides state of the art in home medical care for geriatric and home bound patients. They have been thrilled with the quality of the service, and relieved to no longer have to take the exhausting trip to the doctor. I am also working on helping them find an agency that can provide them an aide that could help take their dad on outings.
Making my clients’ lives easier is important to me. That’s why I love connecting them with other service providers that I trust. If you or an elderly loved one require extra support with financial organization, contact us with questions or comments.