Elder care help

[Johnny2X2X]

My mother in law has made some mistakes. Her husband died of cancer and they racked up a ton of medical bills treating it, after he passed she filed bankruptcy to discharge $60K in debt. She then sold her home without consulting her lawyer and it was too soon after bankruptcy and the court took most of the proceeds from her house. She probably retired too early too.

So here she is, reasonably good health, early 70s, living on just social security, although it's a decent amount a month. What help is there for her in Michigan? She can't afford most apartments and she's one car away from disaster. Who should she contact for housing help? Don't know where to start. She has virtually no savings and things look bleak.

[cilla4progress]

1. Resource

https://michiganlegalhelp.org/

Many states' free legal aid network for low income folks also have free online legal resources for the public.

They are legit, user-friendly, and substantive!

[Rebl2]

2. So sorry

to hear that. I always consulted with my parents lawyer to guide me in what to do. So sorry your mother in-law didn’t consult her lawyer. My situation was very different, but having a lawyer may have been of great help to your MIL.

[Johnny2X2X]

4. It was very frustrating

When it was going on, I tried to intervene, but I didn't realize my MIL was going through depression and not making smart decisions because of it. I had reservations immediately about her selling her home, so I asked her ( more than once) if she had OKed it with her lawyer, she lied to me and said she did. If she would have waited just 3 more months to sell her home she would have been over the time period from bankruptcy where she could hae kept 100% of the proceeds. Her home was her life's investment, she only owed $60K on it when it sold for $160K, after realtor's fees she would have walked with almost $90K, instead, the court siezed her check at closiing and she walked with only $25K. She never told us about it when it happened, I can't imagine how devastated she must have been.

The house today would be worth $300K+ and would be close to paid off, she'd be able to sell it and buy a nice condo for people her age. Instead she wanted to go live with her cousin and they lived the high life for about a year before having a falling out. Then she moved back and rented an apartment above her other daughter's apartment. And now she's living hand to mouth. She had about $50K in a retirment, but blew through that somewhere along the way. She's down to $3K in savings and social security, her entire life of working hard gone because of medical debt and depression.

She's a very sweet lady, I want the best for her, but she will never be moving in with my wife and I, our marriage wouldn't survive it.

The one thing somemone did right by her around was social security, when she called to get set up for it, the person on the phone set her up collecting her husband's for the first several years while hers continued to grow, then she she reached her max she switched to her own and it meant a lot more money for her. That person didn't have to go through the extra effort, but it's been worth several hundred dollars a month for her.

[multigraincracker]

3. Is there a Senior Center in her county?

The one in my county has lots of resources for the elderly.

[tiredtoo]

5. Some senior housing places base rent on income. check it out. EOM