If the person is added as a signer, they don’t have tax issues. It’s when they are added as an account owner that taxes would be owed.
Yup. apparently none of the people in the mix were aware of the difference – I was puzzled the bank couldn’t just undo it all, but I was staying clear of the fray and not offering advice
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Another potential asset conundrum can occur with how safety deposit boxes are set up. Check the paperwork in advance of needing access if you can. DH’s M and her H shared a safety deposit box, with DH, his brother and step brother all listed as having access. That was totally fine, but the bank said the paperwork was drafted in a way that required them all to be present simultaneously, which was impossible. Fortunately, DH discovered that in advance of urgent need and was able to resolve it.. I have no idea how typical this is, but worth checking it out.
Also, good to know that the Social Security office does not accept PoAs as adequate to manage another person’s account as apparently there are too many variables by state. One must be designated as an authorized representative by the account owner. See form(SSA-1696) on website, which has details about authorized reps and authorized payees. Best done ahead of a decline. Has me wondering if DH and I should do the paper work now, though it isn’t necessary. Just in case…
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Medicare and Blue Cross accepted my invoked P of A.
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Wrong thread?
!!! Not sure how that happened!
Yes. Agree it’s complicated and there are lots of moving parts that require some research. I remember how much you did to optimize care for your mother.
Don’t know if invoked PoA status is viewed differently by SS than simply exercising a PoA in order to assist senior (not deemed incompetent) or if SS and Medicare have the same rules/forms. BCBS is of course a private company intersecting with Medicare in these cases and plan requirements may vary by state.
Worth a look at the Social Security site which lays out their specifics. I had a bit of grace when parent in the room once gave SS staff permission for me to navigate the phone call and the SS staff allowed it. Reading the SS website today makes me wonder how frequently that would be possible now.
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If the person is declared incompetent by a doctor, someone has to act for them! I had no trouble, but clearly others have had different experiences. I can only speculate that the P of A’s mentioned here were not invoked, or that there are state to state differences.
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Yes, I tended both of my cooperative parents for years as designated PoA, stepping in as they found helpful before POA was invoked.
My take is that with so many variables, double checking the big stuff, preferably before a crisis, is worthwhile.
OMG Social Security does not accept POAs!! Even mine, where I was appointed by a court!
The stars aligned for me, and I was able to get my Mom on the phone at her assisted living place, with her paid companion next to her, during my call with social security. They (SSA) coached her through the call so we could end up with the outcome we all wanted, which was to allow my mom to get my deceased father’s social security amount, instead of hers.
As I recall, I also had to submit a certified copy of their marriage certificate. Who has that??! And, in Manhattan, where they were married, only the person, or a lawyer as part of a lawsuit can request a copy (another instance of a time when POAs are not accepted). I pretended to be my mom in this case, and got the papers.
So many hoops! It took a good 6 or 7 months to do that simple, standard, transaction.
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Yes, that is why I posted this originally. Sorry for all you went through; it can be daunting and many assume they are covered by a PoA when they are not. Did not mean to create confusion.
It was such a relief when I became the authorized representative for my son. He got so stressed when SSA called him - actually went catatonic one time. Then we went further and became his guardians so nobody bothers him. It means more work for me, but that’s OK.
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Thank you for this. I had no idea. I wonder if I shouldn’t go ahead and set some stuff up like this for H and myself as well.
It was challenging to speak with SS/Medicare and get them to allow us to change the mailing address of my demented parents. The worker didn’t want me to coach them at all but they had so little memory at the time it would not have worked without coaching. The agent was nicer when we were doing mom than when I called back about dad.
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I have a SS issue with my father, just trying to get his address updated after my folks moved to a retirement community. We called the number, and my mother went first - gave old address, gave new address, answered a few other questions - and address was easily changed.
Then handed my father the phone, went through the same information for him, and they said - no can do, there is a fraud hold on your SS account. Tried to do online, but couldn’t (probably for the same reason).
I went to the SS office with the POA - which specifically states that it allows the POA to act on behalf of for SS matters - and they said they did not accept the POA because it is a state document. I asked about why they accept driver’s licenses and state ID but not a POA…
They said I either had to bring my father in, or gain legal guardianship. Wasn’t going to do the guardianship just to change an address, but a complicating factor was that my father failed to take the last step needed for his driver’s license renewal (had paid for it, but needed to take form to the photo center) and it expired. So he had no valid ID, nothing on the list that SS accepts.
One option is a letter from his doctor, on the doctor’s letterhead, with his name and DOB, and must have a wet signature. I managed to make a SS office appointment a few weeks out, and went to his doctor’s office. Doctor provided a letter, but refused to do a wet signature (even though the SS printed directions - which I showed to the receptionist - indicated wet signature needed), and she would not show herself or speak to me. Said part of it was because she had only seen him once (another story - went to make an appointment for him after hospital discharge, said his doctor is having surgery, he will be out for a while…further discussion revealed doctor was retiring, though didn’t notify his patients…)
Accompanied father to a doctor’s appointment the following week and she provided a wet signature, but not in time for the SS appointment. So still don’t have his address changed. I am going to try again to make an appointment at the SS office, as I do have one guy’s local number/extension (which they do not generally make available). Have left a few voicemails but haven’t received a call back. If that doesn’t work, I’ll need to sit there with an impatient (has always been impatient) 91 year old.
I asked about how they handled cases where people needed help with something like this, with elderly or disabled people who have trouble getting around but were not incompetent/requiring guardianship, but no answers. And we still have no insight as to who placed the fraud hold, or when that occurred. Just to note, he still receives his SS direct deposit - has not affected that in any way.
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When SS senses coaching, they hang up!
I made my kids co-trustees of whatever is left in a trust, P of A, Proxies, HIPAA in various combinations depending on personality and skills- everything I could think of.
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I guess we were lucky. I wrote out answers but my parents were still so stressed and confused talking on the phone to a stranger.
I remember when we called SS after dad died, and they spoke to mom on the phone - they confirmed her benefit change with her SS checks being larger while dad’s ceased. Mom was fortunate to have a very good stream of income from real estate, with brother helping with the management. They allowed us to give dad’s information and details about the death certificate, then mom was just confirming with them who she was and yes, that her husband has died as was relayed. Mom was 62 at the time, and she died of dementia at age 77 - so mentally she was in OK shape (she was bi-polar and on medication with regular psychiatrist visits, well managed and cooperative).
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My 92 year old father tells me yesterday - “I am getting old” - getting?
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