BlondiePB said:
khcar1,
I fogot to ask where is the ward residing?
Social Security insurance premiums (Medicare B) are automatically deducted from the beneficiary's monthly SS allocation. A guardian cannot sell a ward's assests without a court order to do so. The proceeds from any sale of a ward's property must be placed in restricted funds for the ward - also per court order. This information will be in the ward's file at the courthouse. A guardian is allowed to be paid, via a court order. Without evidence of these two allocations, you cannot determine whether or not any inappropriate transactions have occurred. You do not know for sure whether or not the guardian had used his/her own money to purchase a house for rental property.
SSA requires a yearly accounting; however, I have found what SSA requires and what SSA asks a Personal Representative to produce are two different things. On the other hand, the court is very strict with the annual accounting reports that a guardian is required to submit for a ward.
Since there is a guardianship for financial matters, I respectively disagree with rmet about the ward calling SSA to ask for another Personal Representative. It has been determined by a court that the ward is NOT competent to handle financial affairs; therefore, the ward is NOT competent to make that type of decision. Since you are the ward's mother, go to the courthouse and check the ward's file to determine whether or not there has been inappropriate transactions. A report to Adult Protective Services will result in a speedy investigation of whether or not the guardian is failing in his/her duties.
I answered some of the questions in general since we still don't have answers to the specific questions. In this case the "client" is OP's son and the "Guardian" is her ex/father. We don't have the details of the special needs trust, so it is difficult to address these issues, but the changes may be due to changes in the law in 1999.
What you say about medicare is true, however, Mom may be calling it Medicare when in fact it is some other form of insurance. Depending on the situation the "client" may have medicaid and/or county/state insurance which may have premiums to pay or payment for HMO through work deduction or private pay and that may be what she is referring to, as laws for special needs trusts changed in 1999 which may eliminate SSI/medicaid for some "Clients" and the need to obtain other insurance. If they have medicare, the problem may be that the co pay is not being paid and that is what is being referred to. For these same reasons, it is important that mom go down to the courthouse, get copies and examine the various filings and orders, she should also contact the conservatorship/probate office.
I just dealt with a similar problem yesterday with a DD adult client, and it turned out may assumptions about trustee and guardianship were misprepresented, that may be what is happening here as well and may explain why things don't jive. IN the case I was involved with, there actually was no guardianship, no trust and the mom who was the rep payee virtually made the DD adult a prisoner in his room without access to medical care or his P&I money etc. Upon acceptance to the Regional Center, mom became threatening, because this was something she didn't want and her son had applied for these services and had an advocate, me. A part of the plan was to change representitive payee to an unrelated adult friend of the family who is of good standing in the community. This process which had been planned, again made her angry, even so, the process goes on because the client has rights even if they have a guardian.
As for Social Security, the information re representitive payee and changing it are accurate both from the 800 number and the actual office handling the account. People assume the "Client" has no rights to request a change in representitive payee, because of their competence, that is not true, but they have to go in with the new payee and explain and the Client has to sign, competent or not, to make the change. Socal Security makes the determination if the change is warrented. In this case if the mom goes in without without her son, She can make the request for change, she would cite the violations, such as failure to pay bills, with proof, failure to provide P&I money etc. It is better with the Client there and if the Client was not available it would be done by mail, if there was no response SSA may require the representive payee and the client to come into the office.
In the case I was involved with, they will go to SSA with the letter of acceptance from the regional center, which includes intent for independent living and a need to change the rep payee, the mother and self proclaimed guardian will still have her input as a mother but her DD addult son will be able to exercise his rights for the first time in over 40 years. OP's case may or may not be similar we don't know the details of the "client's" living arrangements or the extent of disability or special needs.