Hey SF. Question. My elderly FIL is now pretty much in assisted living/nursing home for the extended future. He has no money other than small pension and SS. Lawyer says to use Medicaid loophole to basically st up trust where all his income goes into trust each month and pays for his care and Medicaid picks up the rest.

He can basically maintain a small, sub 2000 dollar account for incidentals. Nothing else. To help him pay for stuff the wife is thinking of getting her name added to his bank account so she can take care of his remaining bills.

Here is the question. My FIL has numerous unpaid bills and now medical bills and I want to know if she attaches her name to his bank account does that in any way attach her to any of his debt?

TIA.

Pete

You o need to talk to his lawyer/your own.

Find a good attorney that specializes in elder care. You won't believe how helpful one can be.

It depends on how much unpaid bills and medical bills he has - as to what the strategy should be. You need to see how big the liability is.

Unfortunately, it sounds like arrangements should have been made quite a while back so tht he could have avoided having numberous bills now.

As others said, an expert in elder care is needed. Either a lawyer or, in some cases, which was in my case for my dad, we had a social worker who knew the ins and outs of the system in terms of mechanics, finances, etc. Several years prior to the social worker, I had already taken care of the wills, durable power of attorney, medical power of attorney (i forget the term), and had also put myself as a joint holder of my parents' accounts.

When I saw the lawyer for the wills and documents, she knew about me adding myself into their accounts but she didn't mention any liability to me. (Of course, I'm sure liability would be different for spouses). The lawyer actually expressed reservations in that she thought I was being "slick." I wasn't. She even wanted to have no contact with me after the first visit as she said her obligation was to my parents as her client.

I don't disagree. This should have been done long ago. I love my FIL but he has always been a disaster with money and stubborn. I have tried to help out but I have been burned financially in the past so I have subsequently stayed out of his business.

His health problems manifested extremely quickly and we are playing catch up. We have a lawyer (elder care). I was just double checking with the tribe here because my limited experience with lawyers has never gave me a warm rush of trust and love. lol

The lawyer says its no problem to put her name on the checking account to pay bills. I just wonder about any liabilities. She has never signed for anything in conjunction with her mother or father. She isn't on the hook for anything at this point at all. I just didn't want her to get her name on anything at all if at all possible.

quote:

my limited experience with lawyers has never gave me a warm rush of trust and love. lol

I know the feeling well.....however, in my own parents case paying for a couple hours fees saved my folks many thousands of $$$ in estate management details.

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
The lawyer says its no problem to put her name on the checking account to pay bills. I just wonder about any liabilities. She has never signed for anything in conjunction with her mother or father. She isn't on the hook for anything at this point at all. I just didn't want her to get her name on anything at all if at all possible.

Purely from a banking perspective, if the account ends up with overdrafts and she is listed as a joint owner on the account it will be reported to places like Chexsystems where most banks check when they go to open new accounts. There are other account options like custodial accounts, guardianships, being listed with power of attorney, etc. that would shield your wife or may (or may not) be a better fit than being listed as a joint owner.

If he has a loan with another entity, just being on his checking account will not make her liable for that debt - but as noted there may be other liabilities that she does not want to assume as a joint owner.

As others have said, elder law is a very specific and very complex area and you really need an expert. There are timing issues and limits and health issues that can play into every decision and many of those decisions are not reversible once made. Definitely find someone who really knows this and specializes in it to protect both yourself and your father in law. Best of luck to you, these issues are always very difficult when dealing with loved ones.

Ordinarily, you are not liable for debts of another unless you promise in writing.

But the banks screw up everything by treating joint account holders as co owners. The business done in the account is reported against all owners. There is no such thing in banking, apparently as another signer. They are just as screwed up dealing with ordinary relationships as attorney in fact.