For those who care for someone with Parkinson's disease
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Carl is very high functioning, but I wonder when some of you decided it was “time” to take control of your family finances? He is, but always has been, very generous with everyone, so I am concerned for the future. I have read that many spouses lose out because their PWP went on a spending spree, etc.! We both have TSAs, joint checking and savings accounts, and opened another savings account with a credit union...but, everything is joint. The accounts all go to the surviving spouse and are ultimately divided between our three adult children. We both have each other as our health care POA, but until he worsens considerably, any advice? |
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This is one problem we have not had to deal with, as my husband always wanted me to handle the finances. I'm grateful because I can see how this could be a very difficult issue, much like the car/driving dilemma. I think since Carl is so high functioning you should try to sit down and talk about what he is comfortable with at this point. You are going to be the one handling everything at some point anyway, so I would suggest that he start letting you do some of it now so that you can learn how things are managed, and are not overwhelmed later. Keep him in the loop, but maybe you should be the one to write the checks, etc. I would also consult with a tax attorney to see what the tax consequences, if any, are if you take his name off of your joint assets (bank accounts, retirement accounts, savings accounts, etc.) This is a big step, but your all's money is only really safe if he doesn't have access to it, sadly. Not just because his generosity might be too much, but because there are so many people out there just waiting to take advantage of an impaired person. Your CPA can probably give you some guidance on how to handle this as well, and perhaps some tips on protecting your assets in general. Let others here know how it goes, as this is one of those things just about everyone will have to deal with at some point. Good luck. |
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jcoff, I am not in the same situation in that this will not be a huge change for us since I have been the one managing finances for most all of our marriage. To help with budgeting and saving, we also have several accounts. Most all, but one, are joint as you described. So it is not new for us, but he only has the card to one account and I monitor it almost daily. Our risk of losing a lot to bad choices, over zealous generosity, or sudden interest in lottery tickets is minimized given limited access to the certain balance at any time. Since, like Carl, my guy is still fairly high functioning, (we know he is mis-reading or misunderstanding various papers or financial statements) this allows him freedom and I am still feeling as if the risk of sudden change is managed. |
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Interesting, thanks... I always have managed our accounts, done our taxes, and managed our rental, but I guess I was really asking about what makes the caregivers here comfortable. Lurking, like you said, so far we aren’t facing this, but I can see how it will be a problem in the future. Carl decided we needed to diversify a big chunk of our savings by investing in the stock market.(We already have stocks). However, three days later, the market tanked and we have not recovered after six months! I realize this can happen to anyone, but it hit me hard when I opened the stock documents and realized we are still losing money! Hence, my question. Thank you for any and all responses. Food for thought. |
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| My husband and I went to our local social security office and had my name put on his SS and Medicare account so I would be able to act on his behalf with the government if it becomes necessary. One of my main concerns was being able to work with Medicare on prescription refills and new prescriptions in the future if my PWP is no longer able to do so. |