I am POA for my father who has Alzheimer's. He currently has a card with frequent flyer miles and a yearly fee. The credit card company told us we can't switch to a no fee card. So either I continue to pay the fee, or close it and open one in my name. I should not have to do this. I just want one bill to pay his expenses to make things easier.
From someone whose dad was defrauded, all I can do is firmly warn you don't do it, just don't do it. Just don't unless you really want to run the risk of some serious legal trouble later and if convicted of wrongdoing, you can spend some serious time in jail if not prison and made to repay that person's estate when they're gone. I'm just trying to keep you from running the risk of getting into some serious trouble later if this is discovered because it's very bad practice to open any accounts in the name of any mentally incapacitated person. It's just not worth it, just don't
I am rep-payee for hubs.
Offers come in the mail, some better than others.
The CC companies ask to speak with him to get permission to talk to me. He has to be able to identify himself, birthdate, address, etc., but I do the finances, pay the bills, etc. Some CC's and some banks are harder to deal with.
The one with citi in it's name is the worst.
But we are married, living together. I don't mention that I am rep-payee now. I had to close an account where the bank would harass me, saying, "the money HAS to be used for him ONLY!", as if I was not doing that!! And this was awhile after the account was opened as a rep-payee account---no credit cards available with this.
If your Dad has good credit, has not been declared incompetent, lives at home still, uses the phone, OPEN a new cc account. Be sure to get a second 'user' card in your name, then the bank will talk to you, make purchases, and you can pay the bills.
Don't close the card with the fee until you have the new one and are liking it.
Does Dad have an ATM card? Can you use that to take the funds directly from his checking account?
Social Security gives recipients their income on a card, however, I don't know if you can pay the bills or the rent with it.
Just be sure to have a copy of the POA in case anyone has questions about your actions.
The fees you're talking about are probably, what, $99 per year? That's not much. And if you're paying all the bills with one card, AND using FF miles, that's probably a pretty good deal.
"Set limits on transactions. Suggest that the person with Alzheimer's disease contact their credit card company to lower the credit limit on any credit cards. You might also see if they're comfortable with canceling their credit cards and becoming an authorized user of one of your cards. American Express, for example, lets you add additional card members onto an account and set spending limits for them on some of their charge cards, says spokeswoman Elizabeth Crosta. Debit cards typically have daily cash withdrawal limits, but many banks will let you lower them.
Allow for some cash. As long as a person with Alzheimer's disease is able to get around on his or her own, give them access to a small amount of cash that they can spend any way that they want.
"Nobody wants to trample on somebody else's autonomy," says Drew. "Yet when a person is no longer able to exercise the good judgment that they used to have, you want to preserve their financial stability."
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