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I am financial POA for my mom. I think she will not qualify for Medicaid long term care as long as she owns stock, but the Medicaid office sent her a letter stating she did qualify for some coverage through Medicaid. I think I've finally got an idea about how much stock mom owns, and as her POA I am trying to figure out if I should wait till mom needs Medicaid to pay for her a skilled nursing facility to sell the stock. Mom thought that one of her stocks had greatly fallen in value, but it had not. For this reason I thought she had far less investments than she has. Mom was very disorganized and I've had to piece together her financial standing as statements arrive in the mail. I still don't know how many are going to the house we sold, but I have requested they be forwarded by the Post Office. Mom told me the name of her biggest investment and that one we are receiving communications to the correct address. She is now in a great MC facility that does not accept Medicaid. It is slowly chipping away at her savings, but she has enough cash & SS for about 2 and 1/2 more years at her current facility barring any major expenses. She is almost 86 and in relatively good health (no heart, kidney or lung problems, mild diabetes, wheel chair bound, very alert with a shockingly good memory, but mentally ill). Her mother lived till 92, but was walking and caring for her own needs (but living with us) until right before she turned 91. I know that usually people live about six months to two years in a nursing home and most people in our family followed that trend. She has been in her MC for 2 and 1/2 years as of this June. How do you figure out how to prepare for future financial needs? We also need to pre-pay for her funeral as she is demanding that and her stock would cover it with some left over. I know I need to contact a financial planner, but most I've heard of will not deal with anyone that has as little money and investments as mom has. Any advice on how to proceed?

If she has enough cash and income for 2 and 1/2 more years at her current facility, I would leave the stock alone. She may not outlive her savings. If she does, and her cash reserves are running low, then it is time to revisit her options at that time.

If she is insistent on pre-paying now for a funeral, I would use from her current savings. I would leave the stock alone until she depletes her savings.
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Thanks everyone! The company name on the stock statements is out of Canada and they do not have a main phone number. I did ask for them via the website to mail me her pin number and they did send that just this week. Most of mom's dividend money is just reinvested, so she doesn't get a lot of checks throughout the year for that. Last one was about $8. I do get stock tax statements, but again the company on them I think is the one out of Canada and she makes almost nothing from that per year. Mom cashed out two of them over 5 years ago and gifted 2 grandkids a bit of college money. I think she cashed another out and bought a car with it for herself, again over 5 years ago, so out of the lookback period for Medicaid. I kept her one handwritten and signed note on the stock statement that the money was gifted to a grandchild for college. I wish she had been more organized. I have a giant tub and another large box of paperwork for her and with all the companies over the years being bought out, stocks being split, etc. it's hard to decipher what is what. Took me forever to figure out which one was her pension as it didn't say anything like pension on it and looked like another stock purchase. I will talk with my husband about us finding an elder care attorney.
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please reread MG’s answer….. somewhere on her “stocks” should be info as to the brokerage who did the transactions. That’s who you contact. If these are old, then it’s more than likely was done with an old school brokerage house, and not the more DIY like Vanguard which abound nowadays. (No shade to Vanguard, it’s just a different approach to investing). The old school firms all have compliance departments and all answerable to FINRA, so if you feel pressured, you just say you want the contact info for the compliance officer (usually at the main HQ). fwiw most of them are women!

Another way to find out is to find her old tax filings as she more than likely had dividends paid or had RMDs or other taxable event. Taxes will have info as to who paid.
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JustAnon 2 hours ago
The dividends from the stocks are mostly reinvested. The name on all the forms is a company in Canada that has no main phone number.
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You need to get all your ducks in a row and then talk to a financial person to see how stocks should be handled. I had my Mom's bank print out every account she had with them. That was savings, checkbook and CDs. I cashed in her CDs because interest was very low and so was the fee.

You don't apply for Medicaid till about 90 days before the money runs out, in my State. You must be spent down within that 90 days. I would wonder what is the "some coverage" she can get.
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JustAnon 2 hours ago
Mom was suddenly in need of care, so I went to the Medicaid office quickly so we could get her covered then placed. Turns out she had more money than we thought so we went with a private facility. Medicaid said they would cover mom's birth control, lol. She is about to turn 86.
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My father cashed out the 2 stocks he owned and signed them over to me. I opened an investment account in my name only and used all that money to pay mom and dads bills for the 8 years they were in AL and MC (3 yrs for mom). The stocks were cashed out with thought to the 5 yr lookback period for Medicaid in case the folks needed Skilled Nursing care. Fortunately, i was able to use their money and keep them in private pay until they passed. But that was the plan with me as POA.
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JustAnon 2 hours ago
Thanks!
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I used an Elder Law attorney prior to applying for Medicaid for my wife. This was money well spent. In my state, all assets are considered prior to acceptance on Medicaid and required a spend down before Medicaid taking over. Also, open Medicaid beds in highly rated facilities are hard to find in my area and are usually filled by current self pay residents first.
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JustAnon 2 hours ago
We live in a rural area and I think we can get her placed about a half hour away if she needs Medicaid. They called just recently to see if she wanted to stay on their waitlist. I think it's affiliated with the private facility she is in now. We sold everything except the stocks and the farm, which is also in my name.
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Where do the statements with the stock info come from? Banks or investment brokerages? Does she have anything in a 401K or an IRA? You could call the numbers on those and see what information you can get. (But be careful of sales pitches!) We are extremely lucky to have an outstanding financial person who was assigned to us through an account and we have gradually consolidated things there, but I don't know how to find one starting from scratch.
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JustAnon 2 hours ago
It's out of Canada and there is no phone number for the stock place.
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I suggest that you make an appointment with an attorney who concentrates in elder law, including Medicaid planning.
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JustAnon 2 hours ago
Thank you!
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