Collin County Living Well Magazine July/August 2017 | Page 34

Memory Care and the
United States Army Air Corps
L
By John Checki Jr. and J. J. Checki III
et’s share a personal story. “Our brains are fat and
lazy,” said Michael Kitces CFP® at the FPA DFW Con-
ference 2017. In time, our brains have a tendency to
wear out. Most of us have seen it in our family and
or our friends. Yes, it is heart stopping and breaking,
and can wear us out as well. Sometimes it is a long playing
expensive experience.
My mother hit her 90s and began to get lonely and a little
disoriented. As I was cleaning out her home, I saw a World
War II wool Army Air Corps jump suit. It was my long de-
ceased father’s. Holy cow, did that bring back memories.
His stories about Texas, especially San Antonio, which he
called San Antone, New Mexico, flying in WWII bombers
he was repairing, shooting aircraft mounted machine guns
into the desert (or is it dessert below), friendly natives, and
other lively times of his life. The Army Air Corp morphed
into the United States Air Force. WWII put my father and
so many other fathers and mothers and families at risk fight-
ing for freedom. Yet, it also gave my mother some benefits
which she enjoys to this very day. Really?
The often mentioned and maligned United States Depart-
ment of Veterans Affairs (aka VA) has benefits for veterans
who served during war times. Wow! How does that work
and how can we qualify?
Several years ago I had lunch with an old friend who was
an expert at this, Mark Johnson. He told me, “Most of us
(veterans) would prefer not to qualify.” Let me explain. To
qualify, you need to be older, sicker, in assisted living or
memory care, and broke. Which means, you would be un-
able to perform some daily requirements and have little to
no income or resources.
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COLLIN COUNTY Living Well Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2017
How does this work? He suggested hiring an expert. Why?
Well, like so many things in life it can be complicated if
we are emotionally involved and doing it for someone we
love. The experts who have been trained and seasoned
with experience can even be certified in VA and Medicaid
Benefits, I am told. Schooled, trained and certified. I was
warned they can be licensed to sell annuities and might
charge a fee to walk us through the process. They could
help fill out the forms, direct us on what documentation we
would need and where and when to file what forms and
supporting documents. They might even be able to refer us
to an experienced attorney who is board certified in such
matters. Some of these attorneys actually go to the assisted
living and memory care units to produce and execute the
documents. What a relief.
How does someone end up in a Memory Care Unit? Almost
everyone I’ve talked to does not