When her 84-year-old father broke his hip and, after rehab, could no longer get from bed to bathroom alone, he entered a nursing home in town. His mind was sharp — he read the paper daily — but he needed round-the-clock care.
The home cost $7,400 a month. His Social Security and an old long-term care policy covered $5,300, leaving a $2,100 shortfall. Her older sister, who held his power of attorney, told her the week he went in that his savings were gone — spent on the hospital and rehab — and that their tenant had quit cropping the land and was paying no rent.
Believing her, she set up a $2,100 monthly withdrawal from her retirement account, paid into the nursing home on the first of every month for 36 months — $75,600 in total. She and her husband postponed a roof replacement and gave up their long-planned trip; she never once asked her sister to show a statement.
Then, dropping her father’s tax papers at the preparer’s office, she saw the top form: the tenant’s name, her father’s name, and one line — “Rents. $26,000.” The bank statement underneath showed no rent deposits in any month. She did not call her sister; instead she put the form in her father’s hands, and he revealed he had believed his own money was paying the bill all along. He read it twice, sat silently for a long time, and then said, “Get my hat.”