Elderly parent CC

[quesyrah]

Sorry, I didn’t really know what to title this.

I’ve mentioned in previous posts that my parents both have dementia and I recently sold their house and moved them to a memory care assisted living.

I have been dealing with financial matters as they pop up. My dad apparently financed an AC unit on a credit card through the HVAC company in October 2019 for just under $6,000. This account is now past due and the balance is over $14,000.

Being that my parents have a $16,000/month bill at their facility, I would like to negotiate this down because they need all their money.

Should I try to negotiate with the CC company or let it go to collections and try to negotiate with them?

I’m sure the right answer is just to pay it, but I’m hoping there’s a way to try and lower what they owe.

And advice is appreciated!

[krystee]

I would at the very least negotiate it back down to $6,000–less if they’d paid some on it..

[quesyrah]

Jul 19, 2021 22:08:43 GMT -5 krystee said:

I would at the very least negotiate it back down to $6,000–less if they’d paid some on it..

He had been making the payments every month until he reached the point where he wasn’t opening his mail or paying anything. I am trying to get back statements so I can see when he fell behind because they won’t tell me.

Every single one of his bills was 3+ months behind

[heygrey]

I'd do my best to figure out what the original cost was, less payments made, and offer to pay the balance in full. I'm not sure how to go about that with the CC being the middle man though. Usually those finance deals are fine if you keep paying on time, but a huge rip off if you miss a payment or go past the deadline.

I'd also consider the long game - so what if it goes to collections and trashes your dad's credit? Is he going to need credit in the future? Will there be anything left in the estate for the CC to come after at his death if the amount continues to balloon? My dad's father died this past year. He had several years of suspected dementia where it seemed like he was handling his finances, but actually added several debts. When my dad was able to step in, he sold some things, paid what he could, and let the rest go to collections. In his case there was no estate, nothing creditors could come after. It may very by state, so definitely check your local laws first.

[quesyrah]

Jul 19, 2021 23:47:14 GMT -5 heygrey said:

I'd do my best to figure out what the original cost was, less payments made, and offer to pay the balance in full. I'm not sure how to go about that with the CC being the middle man though. Usually those finance deals are fine if you keep paying on time, but a huge rip off if you miss a payment or go past the deadline.

I'd also consider the long game - so what if it goes to collections and trashes your dad's credit? Is he going to need credit in the future? Will there be anything left in the estate for the CC to come after at his death if the amount continues to balloon? My dad's father died this past year. He had several years of suspected dementia where it seemed like he was handling his finances, but actually added several debts. When my dad was able to step in, he sold some things, paid what he could, and let the rest go to collections. In his case there was no estate, nothing creditors could come after. It may very by state, so definitely check your local laws first.

Given how much my parents facility costs I don’t think there will be much left after the last parent goes. They each do have life insurance policies though so I guess there will be some money.

I’m not worried about his credit, but I am worried that he’ll end up getting sued for the balance due which would create a bigger headache and end up costing money.

[Beeps (WOT?*)]

Contact the company and work to have the credit reduced. Going from $6K to $13K sounds rather usurious, imo. You should be able to bring it down, especially if you can pay a negotiated balance. With your parents being in assisted care, it should hopefully give *some* leverage to negotiations. They haven't been up-to-date because *dementia* might get them to take a step back. If they persist, see if you can talk to an elder-care attorney.

Also, life insurance policies are generally not part of the estate, iirc. Don't let creditor talk you out of money that is not part of the estate. Bank accounts in their name, personal property (cars, real property, etc.) are part of the estate and proceeds go to pay creditors. Life insurance and other POD proceeds are generally not.

(Not legal advice because I'm not an attorney but that's my understanding from dealing with it in the past.)

[maudefindlay]

When were your parents diagnosed with dementia? If prior to 2019 when this was set up it may be possible with documentation from doctors to have it erased. I would at the very least push that point with the cc company to get a big reduction.

I'm also sorry you are dealing with all of this, it is a lot. It may be worth a consult with a lawyer who deals with elder care and elder laws.

[penguinsidecar]

Do you have power of attorney? If not, you probably need to move forward on that. You will need that to enter any kind of negotiation with a bank / get them to talk about the account.

By now, the bank has already written down the value of the account - so try to negotiate with them first.

[quesyrah]

To answer some questions-

I do have power of attorney. My parents fortunately set that up years ago when they did their trust.

I’m not sure when my mon was diagnosed but my dad wasn’t diagnosed until this year.

The biggest asset they have in their names is the balance of their checking and savings accounts which is where the profits from the sale of their house is. But that’s part of the trust so my name is on the account too. The rest of their assets are stocks, and retirement accounts.