Dementia @ 57 in Illinois. Need help with financial questions.

Yes, the friend's husband should have POA. Freqflyer's post mentioned that.

You have received good advice - contact an Elder Law attorney who knows about the financial things, and hurry. It will be worth every penny. (Any personal advice you might read from people here may not apply to your situation, things are different in every state and things can change from year to year.) Good luck.

Check with the local Office for Aging. They usually have an attorney on retainer and can refer to good Elder Law Attorney.

You cannot apply for DPOA, that can only be assigned by the person granting it. If it is too late for her to sign POA because of incapacity only option remaining is guardianship.

Get a good elder law attorney well versed in Medicaid regulations.

Apply for DPOA, which is a notarized document whereby the filer has to provide a valid photo ID. Either a notary public or a constable can do this after you fill out the form. Speak with an attorney who specializes in these things.

Call a lawyer. Call a lawyer. Call a lawyer. Do it fast. (An elder care lawyer who is up on all the ins and outs.)

Social Security Disability is normally a two year process. Apply for Disability then go to the Elder Care attorney. They will be able to get her qualified for Medicaid.

Definitely consult an Elder Law Attorney. You might be able to get her on Social Security but I'm not to sure about Medicare. Usually there is a 24 months waiting period before that begins after going on Social Security. Medicare isn't going to pay for home care or institutional care anyways. For that you need Medicaid and you need an Attorney well versed in the laws to help protect assets.

I only know something can be done because a neighbor developed cancer before he was of age. I don't know how, but they managed to get him on full disability so he could receive the cancer treatments.

Elder Attorney should be able to set you on the right path.

Contact Social Security Disability immediately definitely consult a lawyer about your other options but if she qualifies for Social Security disabilities to receive Medicare regardless of age. And I'm speaking from experience because I am 56 years old and I've been receiving Medicare for 5 years due to my disability

Elder law attorney is the person that might be able to help out with this.
As of now start looking at Adult Day Care, contact your local senior center. At 57 she may not qualify but the will have social workers that could offer some ideas.
You could also check some of the Dementia specific facilities, they may also offer day care.

See a Elder Law attorney ASAP. They can prepare all the paper work that needs to be prepared like wills, DPOA, etc and will tell you how to jump through all laws for Medicare and Medicaid.

She should be able to be deemed disabled and receive Medicare that way. There are normally laws for the spouse of someone on Medicaid. Here in NY, my friend's father was able to keep the house and all assets, while the mother received Medicaid. Definitely have your friend go to a lawyer. I would recommend a disability attorney. They should be able to get everyone done fairly quickly.

StressedOne, with dementia, some of the items you had mentioned, your friend's wife would need to be able to understand legal documents when it comes to signing such items. Sounds like that wouldn't be possible at this point in time. Hopefully your friend's Husband has Power of Attorney.

Best to leave well enough alone until the friend's Husband speaks with an Elder Law Attorney. These Attorneys specialize in all aspects of aging, and are highly knowledgeable about Medicaid.

I might consult with a well versed attorney in these matters. Probably a firm who has Elder Law and Family Law attorneys in one firm, because there may be both types of issues. It's complicated.

This isn't a do it yourself project, I think you need to consult a lawyer who specializes in medicaid. You probably also need to consider guardianship unless you had the presence of mind to prepare your POAs early.