Be careful what you sign

Ed1937

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/07/28/1113134049/nursing-homes-are-suing-friends-and-family-to-collect-on-patients-bills  

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Jo C.

Really good information, Ed.  This is something I have run into.  When admitting my MIL as well as my mother and later my step-dad for NH admissions, I would not sign any papers without reading them carefully.  I sat there as long as it took because they would not let me take the papers  home to sign at leisure.

Where it said, "Responsible party," or Responsible person," I stated only my relatives name that was being admitted.  I also looked over every sheet.  I always found the little print where it said I would agree to arbitration only rather than suing - I always without fail, wrote tiny letters saying, "no," or "refuse," and then put my initials.  I never left without a complete copy of what I signed so that I had my own evidence .

I also saved the shiny facility brochures where all the care is promised, that came in real hand once when legal matters became absolutely necessary for a monumental issue for my poor MIL.

When I signed into visit at my MILs facilty which is the only place I had to do that, I simply signed in with intitials only; I never put my signature into the log; that way, there is no way to copy the signature.

I also, when bill paying or making a purchase,, I kept every single receipt or bill signed with date paid.  I kept all financial statements.   I did a monthly Financial Accounting Report for my mother, step-dad, and MIL in which I listed every account they had with the amount.  I then on subequent pages listed each check written - to who it was written and for what.  On that first page of account listings, if the monthly bills exceeded the social security and small pension income, I listed the shortfall and the account from which the shortfall was paid from.

I sent the monthly report to the distant siblings to keep transparent, but I was SO glad I had done so and kept all receipts filed by year by month - my mother, in her FTD delusions had herself wheeled into the bank where she demanded to see the Manager and made wild accusations that I had been stealing her money. OMG!   Not a penny out of place and the Manager could see that, but by law had to contact the police department and out came two detectives. You can imagine. There it was, all the Financial Accounting Reports along with all receipts and bank statements, nicely filed by month for each year and kept in a Target plastic box with a lid. WHEW!  All was okay, and I knew it would be okay, but it was still a dreadful panicky, horrible feeling.

Caution took not too much time, but not anywhere the time and stress it would have taken if I had nothing like that and was hanging out in gale force winds with nothing to show what had been done.

J.

Dio

OMG, thank you for these posts!

Lynne D

Thanks Ed and Jo C!

Michael Ellenbogen

This is just unbelievable. Eveytime I think I heard it all something else comes up. I had share this with some folks that hopefully will look into this practice.