Finances
The ability to manage personal finances includes making and communicating decisions about money, like buying food, personal items, and things for fun. It also involves keeping a bank account, paying bills, and recognizing and avoiding financial exploitation.
A supported decision-making plan is when you have a trusted person to help you with…
- Making decisions about everyday purchases like groceries and big purchases like a car and recognizing financial exploitation.
- Understanding your finances, including benefits, communicating how you want to spend your money, and interacting with bank staff.
- Paying bills, making purchases, and making change for $1, $5, and $10.
There are easy ways to help you use your money wisely. You can use special apps and tools to plan how to spend your money. They can even help you learn about counting coins and making change! You can also share a bank account with someone else. This means you both can use the money. Or you can let someone else help you with your money without giving them your money. There are also tools to help you pay your bills on time.
A Power of Attorney (POA) is a legal document that lets someone you choose (called your Agent) make choices for you. Your Agent can have a lot of power or just a little, depending on what you decide the document says. A POA allows you to give someone you trust the right to make choices for you.
Safety from abuse, neglect, and exploitation means making sure you are protected from being hurt or used unfairly. Financial Exploitation is when someone steals or uses your money or property unfairly.
A Living Trust is a legal document created by a person during their lifetime. The person who creates the Trust is called the Grantor. They appoint someone else, called the Trustee, to manage their assets. The Trustee handles the assets for the person who will eventually receive them, known as the Beneficiary.
A Special Needs Trust is a type of trust for if you are living with a disability. This trust gives you income. It lets you have this income while keeping your needs-based public benefits, like Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid benefits.
An ABLE account is a special kind of savings account that helps people with disabilities. The money you put in can grow without paying taxes. You can use the money to pay for things that help people with disabilities.
Anyone who is disabled can have an ABLE account. If you can’t open your own account, someone else can open one for you.
The Veterans Affairs (VA) Fiduciary Program helps protect veterans and other beneficiaries who cannot manage their benefits on their own. You are a beneficiary if you receive benefits. The VA decides if you need a fiduciary.
A fiduciary is a person who helps manage your benefits. Usually, this role is filled by a family member or friend, but the VA will check to ensure they are suitable. If a family member or friend cannot serve, the VA will choose a fiduciary, either an individual or an organization.
Social Security has a program that helps you manage your benefits if you cannot manage your income payments. The program is called Representative Payment Program and includes Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments. The Social Security Administration (SSA) will choose a representative payee (payee) who will manage your payments. You are called the beneficiary.
