<p>My D is a HS Senior and we are getting set to fill out the FAFSA. I just realized this evening that I may have an issue. My mother-in-law is in her 80's and has been living in an Alzheimer's unit at our local retirement home for several years. </p>
<p>My name is on her bank account since I have been paying her bills for about 10 years. Not a penny of that money is mine and I never touch it except for her monthly bills. There is only $55,000 left and that decreases each month by about $8000 so she will be out of money very soon. Unfortunately, I'm thinking that this money will show up as an asset that will count against us for financial aid!</p>
<p>If I take my name off her account, her bills won't be paid. Any advice? Thanks!</p>
<p>Whose SSN is on the account? As long as none of the money is yours (I assume you have her POA or the account is jointly held), do not report it for FAFSA.</p>
<p>Quick, this week (before Jan 1) speak to a banker at the bank and ask if there is a way to title the account differently (as in “Joy Jones as managed by her daughter, Judy Jones”).</p>
<p>If you don’t get the answer you like, contact an attorney who handles family trusts. </p>
<p>Seriously, this may make a difference if you can get this done in the next couple of days – so you are sitting at the keyboard and truthfully answering “I have $50 in checking” instead of “$50,000”.</p>
<p>Also, fire off a question directly to FAFSA. They answer questions quickly (and, more importantly, correctly). There will be several days delay around Jan 1. They don’t come back and cross check your questions with your subsequent application – so ask any potential worrisome questions and get the true skinny. </p>
<p>Make sure you print off a copy of the FAFSA when you get it done. It provides a good footprint for the following years.</p>
<p>We had a similar account. All of the tax info was sent to my Mom…I was her conservator, and paid all of her bills. The accounts had my name on them as a secondary person. Mom was the primary.</p>
<p>While I agree the OP should make any necessary changes without delay, I don’t believe it has to be done this week for FAFSA. Assets reported for FAFSA are as of the reporting date, not as of Dec. 31.</p>
<p>(swimcatsmom, sk8rmom, kelsmom – pls correct me if I’m wrong)</p>
<p>Thanks for all the input! I went to the bank and chatted online with a FAFSA rep today. FAFSA said that if my name is on the account, then I need to report it and then I can discuss the reason for the account later with the school’s financial aid office. I believe my best course of action is to remove my name from that account tomorrow. If it ever comes up in the future, I have all the checks for every penny that show that they were all used for her direct care.</p>
<p>What if you paid her January and February bills early - and then removed your name from the account - so that you could honestly not include that account on FA forms. Then - put your name back on the account prior to March bills being due. Would that work?</p>
<p>I like the idea of paying her bills early, but I would worry about my name going back on that account for the future. My other option is to ask my brother-in-law to write her monthly checks for the final few months before her money runs out. I think he will understand.</p>
<p>I have a similar situation, I am power of attorney along with one of my brothers for my mom. She was injured last summer and I wrote checks for her while she was out of commission. Also, she has CDs for each of her kids, jointly held by her and for each of us. I never considered any of this my income since it is hers and I never touch it. </p>
<p>So-which is it? Something I don’t need to worry about since I am poa on the checking and the CDs are joint? Or something I need to worry about?</p>
<p>I just talked to my mom and she said CDs are in trust for us, and that only her social security number is on the checking account. Does that put me in the clear? Gosh, I hope so. Thanks for any help.</p>
<p>My moms accounts were with her social too. She had the interest and such for HER taxes. They were her accounts and we did not list them on the fafsa. Hope we were right. DS was verified each year but since the 1098i was sent to my mom, we didn’t send it. Again…hope that was right!</p>
I can’t imagine why that would not be correct. Look at it this way. Your mom could have hired an acct to handle her bills, and the income would still be under her name. The fact it was a family member posting the bills should be irrelevant.</p>
<p>As an aid officer, I would never have expected a parent to report a bank account that was actually her parent’s … even if her name was on it. If push had come to shove, I would have accepted a signed statement that explained the account.</p>
<p>If you have to report any income from accounts on your taxes, these accounts could raise eyebrows. Otherwise, they won’t even be on the radar.</p>
<p>TeacherMomToo
My daughter is in college, and my Mom has dementia. I refuse to put my name on any bank accounts including PTA. Since 2005 I have paid my mothers bills with her bank account set up on line by me. So the solution is very simple. Take your name off the account, set up online banking, and pay bills electronically. All you need is the account number and addresses. You can even set it up as an automatic payment. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>legitamate: Thanks! I did take my name off the account yesterday just to be on the safe side. Sorry to hear about your mom’s dementia. It’s heartbreaking for us, and likely to go on for many more years. She is physically “healthy” but has severe alzheimer’s by now. Her dad made it to 93 and she’s only 85 now. Thanks for the advice.</p>
<p>I wasmade guardian for my mother with Alzheimer’s and the bank accounts are titled that way. I would worry about taking your name off the account completely. Now that you have taken your name off, you might want to talk to someone about retitling it. After all, you will want access to those funds after she passes away.</p>
<p>MizzBee: She only has $55,000 left and with her $8000 monthly charge at the Alzheimer’s unit of the nursing home, the account will be gone in just a few months anyway. </p>
<p>She saved so diligently and paid for at least $250,000 for her long term care so far (savings plus the proceeds of selling her house) and she isn’t even aware of it. The ironic thing is that if she hadn’t saved all that money, she could have gotten a bed in an Alzheimer’s unit much faster. Because she was private pay and they only had so many beds available, she had to wait for a space. Thanks for the input!</p>
<p>I think FAFSA was wrong in that answer, and yes, I have gotten conflicting answers to complex questions when calling FAFSA.</p>
<p>What I was told about joint accounts, whether that be a parent or a child is that it is reported as the asset of the person to whom the interest is reported. So if you have joint accounts with all your children, under their SS# you report them as assets of the kids.</p>