Planning For Long-Term Care For Dummies by Levine

Author:Levine [Levine, Carol]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781118756607
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2014-02-06T14:25:46+00:00

Adding another person to a bank account could have implications for future Medicaid eligibility. The account could be considered a transfer of assets at less than fair market value. If this transfer happens within five years of an application to Medicaid, the person is penalized according to Medicaid look-back rules.

Obviously, setting up a joint bank account should be done only with someone you trust completely. Even so, it may be prudent to keep only the minimum amount necessary to pay bills in the account and avoid bank fees that might apply to a minimum balance. A large amount of cash sitting in a bank account can turn out to be an attractive nuisance, applying to this situation a term describing something on a property that a child may find both dangerous and appealing. If the joint owner of the account takes out money for personal use, even with all the best intentions of repaying the money, there's always the possibility that he or she won't be able to fulfill that promise. The annals of elder abuse are filled with stories of relatives, household help, and new “friends” who have taken advantage of a trusting older adult to enrich themselves or to pay themselves for taking care of an older person when that was never part of the agreement. Best not to put temptation into the picture.

A key concept in all these situations when someone has access to another's money is fiduciary duty, which occurs when one person depends on another to act in his or her best interest. The responsible person has a duty of loyalty to act only for the elderly person's benefit and to act with good faith in furthering his or her interests. Furthermore, he or she has a duty to disclose all relevant information. Anyone taking on the responsibility of a joint bank account should be reminded about these ethical and legal requirements.

Consider drawing up an agreement that states the sources of money to be deposited such as (Social Security, pension, family contributions), how it will be spent (such as rent or mortgage, household expenses, doctor bills, household help), and what should happen to the balance if the co-signator dies. This document would not be legally binding but would make clear to both parties (and to the rest of the family) how the joint account will be used. The agreement may need to be changed if circumstances change.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.