I went through the fuduciary process two years ago, and have had no problems until today.
Dad's monthly check (all of which covers his bills) didn't get deposited. When I called, I was told that it went to the fiduciary. I have no idea who this person is or how they got involved.
I spent two hours on the phone trying to get information, and apparently, a letter was sent out (I still don't know the subject matter) two weeks ago to an address that I haven't lived at for two years regarding this change. WHAT?!?!
I gave them my new address, but now I have to wait to get the letters in order to take the next step? So, right now, checks are bouncing all over the place, and I have no idea WHERE Dad's money is, WHO has it, or WHEN I can get it back.
Thankfully, Dad has a small amount of savings that I can dip into (and break my promise to him not to touch it) to cover me in the meantime, but WTH?!?!
I will happily provide documentation for how I spend Dad's (and MY own money!! HELLO!!! I work two jobs to take care of Dad) money, but it seems really unfair that his bills are going unpaid because of their administrative error!!
RIDICULOUS!!!
Well, I had to put all of that on the back burner and get Dad moved, but it appears that I made just enough noise with the right people. Once I explained that I would have gladly submitted paperwork had I known that I needed to and that I am more than happy to document every red cent I spend on Dad, there was a "miraculous" change of heart.
I received a call Friday from the Field Investigation Office Director who pretty much admitted that the person who did my initial fiduciary certification screwed up. The guy basically filled out the paperwork for me and told me to sign. He did not explain the ins and outs, penalties, ramifications at ALL!
He then stated that the person who should have contacted me when they couldn't reach me via mail reported that they contacted me but "couldn't recall" when she reached out or provide a phone number.
Soooo... now I have to do the entire process again... for two years!!!! Since the silly person who did my first assessment didn't clearly explain that I could not combine Dad's VA income with other money, I am basically doing to have to manually pull out what I did with it. Thankfully, the ALF bill exceeds his income, so that will be an easy one.
It's just a complete Pain in the ARSE to have to do this because THEY screwed up. This manager apologized profusely for how I was treated and admitted that he had no inclination at all that I was doing anything malicious.
BUT.... once this is over, I think I will let the silly government do it (at a fee, of course -- more money I have to shell out), just to avoid the hassle. If I could wring the Adult Day Care guy's neck I would. Because HE was dishonest (not letting me know that I was breaking a VA rule by using the Daycare benefit AND having dad in ALF), I'm paying the price.
UNBELIEVABLE!!!!
Tiny - didn’t you deposit into dads account so he had $ to cover checks? That too could trigger an issue. As it looks like “income” and any income change must be reported....yada yada.... For my mom, the last month before filing for NH Medicaid, it was a flurry getting stuff moved through for spend down. & mom was going to be about $200.00 short, so I wrote a check to cover it & deposited into her checking account. She (me as her dpoa) got an employment questionnaire from Medicaid around month 4 in the process asking about her sources of income & employment. Did not occur to me that the $200 triggered the letter, so I went into a snarky what I thought funny lengthy rant on the questionnaire about the status on companies mom worked for in the 1940’s - 1960’s and when they ceased to exist (like Woolworths, Joske’s of Texas, etc.) The caseworker (laughing thankfully, he fondly remembered the Xmas pilgrimage to Joskes Winter Wonderland which everyone in So Texas did at some point) called me....it was about the $200. Oh well..... Medicaid since its state, has boots on ground local caseworker to speak to. But I bet VA is like Medicare & NFIP, it’s all centralized federal document driven with tight timeframes. You rarely have one on one phone communication until it’s too late.
Then, this occurs in the middle of this relocation of your dad is doubly stinky (trying not to get censored).
“Misuse of funds”? Me thinks this stemmed from last month when it was determined your father should not have been in Adult Day Care provided by the VA during your care call, am I correct?
It’s not a coincidence,Ms Tiny....
Did it even cross their minds that they could have rung your Dad's facility and left a message for you there? There are a thousand and one ways they can reach a person when they want to.
Slugs, useless slugs, the lot of them. God rot 'em.
On the other hand... since they think they can do so much better... does this mean they'll also be paying all the bills in future? That would be nice.
The "official" lady (she kept saying ma'am the annoying, military way) on the phone stated that FROM XXXX (they always know the number) that I signed stated that I would notify the VA of a change of address. I THOUGHT I DID. All of the other facilities knew my address (so their computers don't communicate with each other???), but I happened to miss THEIR division.
She had no response when I challenged why they did not make more of an effort to contact me since I exceeded the 125 day grace period. She just kept repeating that I signed to submit paperwork every year... that they sent to the wrong address.
So, due to my "lack of responsibility", I've been punished and have to jump through even more hoops to make sure this gets handled. More paperwork, more calls, more time off work.
This is completely insane. The VA refuses to take any accountability, and I feel like such a failure. I honestly didn't know that I wasn't doing something I was supposed to be doing.
NOT A GOOD DAY
SS declared my MIL dead - she marched down there to tell them reports of her death were wrong. They got her resurrected for a month. It happened twice more. Fortunately, her doctor's office knew her and she was able to get medical care. But her Medicare payments had been stopped to her insurance company and it could've been serious had she needed hospital care (as they showed her with no Part B or D) .
I have no idea what the constituent service person at our congresswoman's office did to clear it up but it never happened again. The grandkids declared Gma was a zombie.
Again... they claim to be so technologically advanced and can't get in touch with people. Email... text... heck!! Even a phone call.
I knew nothing and it has had ENORMOUS ramifications. I'm flabbergasted
Guess they won't reimburse me for the extra day off I had to take being on the phone with this stuff, and I'm STILL getting the run around. If I hear "We'll call you" one more time....
The issue is they couldn't get in contact with me (minimal effort on their part), and decided to make a major financial decision without me even knowing about it. Had I known that I needed to take action, I would have.
Is there something I can do to be proactive on my part in the future? God forbid the Federal Government actually have to WORK at anything. If I need to submit something yearly, FINE. JUST. LET. ME. KNOW.
Once stuff settles, try to get it so that it’s no longer VA assigned fiduciary oversight but instead you become complete fiduciary.
Oh & the reason why, is apparently because POAs are viewed as a state created & state specific document. It’s also why the bigger banks that are in multiple states or nationwide totally do foot dragging on letting DPOAs even with clear financial power to do anything. And then bigger banks do the “we require a springing” document to attach to the DPOA as a cya.
Really for Anyone reading this, when it’s federal try to do anything first & foremost on line with your elder.
The pompous jerk seemed so proud that he had all of the "pertinent" information about where to send Dad's funds. He was WRONG!!! I demanded that he just hold on to the check until I can get to the bottom of this nonsense.
I get that there are dishonest people out there that misuse Veteran checks, but I'm not one of them. I would have been MORE than happy to fill out any needed paperwork, but somehow I got penalized because THEY had the wrong address.
It burns me up that very little effort was made to find me. They said the mail was never returned. That's most likely because the new occupant just threw away mail that wasn't addressed to them. It's mind boggling that we have such an advanced military but they can't track down an address. My phone number hasn't changed in 10 years. I NEVER received a call. Disgusting!
Is this someone fraudulently diverting dad's funds?
Newspapers then. Kick up a stink.
Did I mention that the lawyer they appointed from the VA informed me that my power of attorney is worth "nothing" because it's the government!!!
Sickening....
Is he correcting HIS ERROR straight away?
Resort back to Linda22 suggestion.
Needless to say, I got ZERO work done today, and I'm due to move Dad Friday. It never ends...
The information he has is wrong, and he proceeded to ask me "Where is the $800 deficit coming from?" I LIVIDLY told him that it comes from my bank account and if I would have been INFORMED of this change, checks wouldn't be bouncing like goodyear tires right now...
Abuse of a VA. And abuse of the system. Incompetence. Aged related. Anything you can think of. The fact that you work two jobs to pay both of your ways. etc. etc.
And very good luck to you both. It is disgusting.
I am agog to hear, when you track this person down, how the proposed fiduciary will go about paying your father's bills when s/he doesn't know what they are...?
I assume the office refused to give you a contact name or number, did they? I'm just wondering how long and how many attempts it might take for the replacement letter to reach your new address. Not that I mean to make you feel worse :(