Retirement Living » finances

Help with Daily Money Management–InfoDoc, Inc.

Kemmie Turpin — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 19:26:59 +0000

It all started with a phone call. Ivor and Jean Jones had been living in an assisted living community in Baltimore, Md., for several years when one of their sons, Dr. Bruce Jones, received an unexpected call from their neighbor. “The neighbor had seen their condo listed in the paper as not having paid taxes. It was scheduled for tax sale,” Bruce recalled.

Bruce was shocked, but he soon realized that his father had not been managing any of the couple’s finances. “We discovered that my dad hadn’t been paying my mother’s Medicare premiums since May 2010, and the medical bills were piling up,” Bruce said.

: The Jones family no longer has to worry about sorting paperwork or paying bills. Pictured are fro left to right: Ivor, Tanya, Bruce and Jean Jones.

When Bruce’s wife, Tanya, read about InfoDoc, a company that offers estate organizing services, she knew they could help. “Mary Helen [with InfoDoc] has been a godsend,” said Bruce. “You read about this stuff and you think it wouldn’t be so difficult to handle, but it’s so much harder when you are actually trying to do it yourself.”

Although Medicare originally told Bruce and his mother they only needed to pay $300 and coverage would be reinstated, the check was never cashed and the family could not get any answers. When InfoDoc stepped in to help, they contacted Congressman John Sarbanes’ office, and his staff helped the family get Medicare re-instated; however, coverage would not start until July 2012.

Since this still left the family liable for old medical bills, InfoDoc continued to pursue complete coverage. Mary Helen reached out to Senator Benjamin Cardin’s office, and they ultimately helped get coverage re-instated and retroactive back to May 2010. Remarkably, Jean’s coverage was reinstated on a Friday and that Sunday she fell and broke her hip and had to have a hip replacement.

“Getting Medicare reinstated took a tremendous amount of effort on her part– letter writing and countless phone calls –and it saved us tens of thousands of dollars,” Bruce said. “Her services really have more than paid for themselves.”

In addition to helping the Jones family get Medicare reinstated, InfoDoc organized their files and helped to eliminate bogus charges coming out of the checking account. They are also working to get the medical facilities and doctors who were paid by the family to resubmit Medicare claims and reimburse the family.

“This kind of work takes a lot of attention to detail and a lot of creativity as well,” Bruce concluded. With a very demanding schedule of his own, Bruce is grateful that he can now spend his free time with his family– instead of reviewing, analyzing and paying bills.

How To Make Sure No Questions are Left Unanswered Before Death: End of Life Planning

Lauren Searson — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Death. Everyone is forced to deal with it at some point, but nobody knows exactly when. It is a taboo topic in America, avoided and ill-prepared for by most people until it is too late.

The death of a loved one is a painful, stressful time and dealing with personal effects, wills, finances and funeral preparations is only an added frustration. Many Americans wrongfully assume the preparation for death can wait until they are senior citizens or in a retirement home. The fact is, often times when people wait till this point in life they are simply not in the best state of mind to prepare this type of information.

Terry Ann Black from Lafayette, Calif. knows the story all too well. After the death of her father-in-law, a safe deposit box key was discovered amongst his belongings with no information on where the actual box was located. Terry and her husband searched everywhere for some type of information or records about the box. After days of endless searching, frustration and sadness, Terry and her husband lost hope.

Anecdotes like these demonstrate that it is never too early to begin preparing for death. The best time is now. There are several, important road marks in life that can be great reasons for preparing this type of information; marriage, purchasing of real estate or the birth of children. Any time there is a significant change in life or finances, it is imperative the information and wishes be documented in a safe, secure place.

Many people underestimate the amount of information needed. Gathering all the crucial details can be timely and overwhelming. Important questions that might be overlooked in a will are:
-Where is your will kept?
-Do you have a guardian for your minor children
-Who is it and what is their phone number and address?
-Do you have any hidden assets?
-Do you own real estate other than your home? Where is it located?
-In the event of your death, who would you like notified?

Bringing up the subject of death preparation is both awkward and uncomfortable for everyone involved. This holiday season could be the perfect time to discuss details with your family and prepare and distribute the information. Compile it for your loved ones providing your survivors with a complete list of last wishes and personal records. Peace of mind during a difficult time can be the last and best gift they ever receive.

Caring Is Not Enough is a guidebook offering a simple and efficient way to prepare crucial, personal information before the end of life. The book contains more than 100 crucial questions and is an easy way to address the awkward subject with family members, friends and loved ones. The book is in question/answer format and takes approximately 1-4 hours to complete. Copies of Caring Is Not Enough can be ordered online at www.caringisnotenough.net

Receiving Help with Unmanageable Bills and Paperwork: Senior Financial Planning

Lauren Searson — Mon, 01 May 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Amelia Frank was receiving confusing bills and needed help with her tax paperwork when she turned to a Daily Money Manager.

Family members came from Delaware and Baltimore, neighbors stopped by to offer congratulations, and both new and old friends were happy to celebrate Amelia Frank’s recent 97th birthday. As she approaches the centenarian milestone, Mrs. Frank enjoys the company of good friends and family members. She readily admits that finding the right type of assistance has allowed her to remain in control of her life-and her finances.

Mrs. Frank graduated from Barnard College and taught high school for several years in upstate New York. In 1942, a colleague from Barnard asked her why she was not involved in the war effort. Shortly thereafter, she joined the U.S. Navy. After 20 years in the service, she retired as a Lieutenant Commander.

After retiring, Mrs. Frank focused her energies on volunteer work. One of her most rewarding positions was with The Seton Guild, the organization that provides fundraising support for the St. Ann’s Infant and Maternity Home, a home for needy expectant mothers and mothers with young children. Mrs. Frank recalls with some pride several mothers who went on to get college degrees after leaving St. Ann’s.

When her husband passed away, Mrs. Frank decided to leave her family home in favor of a smaller apartment. Later, she moved to Leisure World, where she enjoyed an active lifestyle. While dealing with some health problems, Mrs. Frank realized that she needed a more supportive environment and moved Bedford Court, a Sunrise Senior Living community in Silver Spring, MD.

While still living at Leisure World, Mrs. Frank began receiving confusing bills from home care agencies that were assisting her. Unsure how to contest these bills, she turned to the social worker at Leisure World, who recommended Help Unlimited, a local Daily Money Management firm.

In 2005, Help Unlimited began assisting Mrs. Frank. During her first visit with Mrs. Frank, Roberta Gosier, a Daily Money Manager and the Director of Help Unlimited, focused on resolving the issues with the home care agencies’ bills. Roberta also worked with Mrs. Frank in pulling together her 2004 income tax paperwork. It did not take long to solve these problems, but unfortunately, Roberta soon discovered that someone had misused Mrs. Frank’s credit card and her long distance service. Help Unlimited immediately addressed these issues and helped Mrs. Frank to avoid any damage to her credit record.

Mrs. Frank now only needs periodic assistance to keep her affairs in order and her tax paperwork up-to-date. “Getting all these papers organized is extremely important,” says Mrs. Frank.

Always meticulous and detail-oriented, Mrs. Frank admits that she enjoyed balancing her checkbook and taking care of her bills. However, she now realizes how important the help of a Daily Money Manager can be. This type of assistance has helped her to resolve incorrect bills and avoid unmanageable paperwork.

Certified Retirement Coach

Lauren Searson — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 00:00:00 +0000

Retirement may be one of the greatest transitions in our lives and offer us some of our greatest challenges, yet most of us have only considered how much money we have saved and what trip we’d like to take.

But the truth is, there is much more to successful retirement years than finances and travel.

As a Certified Retirement Coach, my practice addresses achieving a retirement with purpose, passion, balance and fulfillment.

Residing in Southwest Florida, known to many as the retirement capital of the world, I have seen first hand how thousands relocate here, buy a waterfront home, new car and boat for their dock. One would think, with all these creature comforts, they would be the happiest retirees on the face of the planet. Some are, but many aren’t. Niceties such as housing, recreational activities, pensions and medical facilities are largely insignificant compared to our resolve to live a great life.

Living “the great life” begins with getting connected.