Once you’ve selected a long-term care facility for a loved one, it’s a good idea to start considering ways to help them get ready for their new day-to-day routine — even before they make the move to their new home. We’ve covered several ways to ease your loved one’s transition, and below you can learn more about how you can get their financial affairs in order with the help of True Link. 

1. Ability to make purchases for themselves and maintain independence

When you are stepping into a more hands-on role with your loved one's finances, it’s important to seek out opportunities to help them maintain their independence. Transitioning into a care facility can take some time to get used to — even without the changes in how their money is managed, so you want to make sure they are able to maintain a sense of financial independence. 

Your loved one can use the True Link Visa® Prepaid Card, wherever Visa is accepted, to make their own purchases. As the one who manages the card, you can adjust the spending settings in your True Link account using the Spending Monitor and choose where the Visa card works and where it doesn’t. You can be merchant specific (e.g. only allow purchases at CVS and Starbucks) or by category (e.g. only allow purchases at pharmacies and grocery stores). You can take a deeper look at how the Spending Monitor works here.

2. Protection from fraud, scams, and unintentional spending

Of course, safeguarding your loved one’s finances is also a top priority — particularly as they are navigating new situations and interacting with new people. With True Link, you can also adjust the settings to help protect against elder financial abuse and spending mistakes that can become more common as people age. Here are some settings families may typically use for their loved ones: 

Block over-the-phone and online purchases

Many of today’s scams targeting older adults involve giving card information over the phone or online. By blocking these transactions, the cardholder will only be able to use the Visa card for in-person transactions.

Limit or block access to cash

If you’re worried about how your loved one might spend their cash or who they might hand it over to you, you may want to block access to cash altogether or only allow withdrawals up to a certain amount. 

Set transaction limits

Because the above settings wouldn’t prevent your loved one from making an unnecessarily large purchase in person OR stop someone from manipulating them to make a large purchase on their behalf, setting transaction limits can help keep big spending in check. (Note: you can also set up a funding schedule for the Visa card that helps limit how high – or low – the balance can be at any time)

3. Allow those involved in care to make purchases on their behalf without a credit card or cash

There may be times when staff at the care facility need to make a purchase for your loved one — maybe they’re picking up medication from the pharmacy or helping them buy a gift for a family member. Before True Link, it was common for family members to simply hand over cash, gift cards, or even a regular credit card to others to make these purchases, but as one care agency owner shared with us, “there’s a lot of room for error” in these scenarios. With True Link, family members can give care providers their own True Link Visa Card, and customize its settings to meet the specific use cases where caregivers are approved to make purchases. 

4. Family can receive real-time spending alerts

Whether you’re getting a True Link Visa Card for your loved one and/or their caregiver, you can set up real-time alerts to stay informed when purchases are made and when transactions are blocked. These notifications can help notify you of concerning spending situations or suspicious trends that you may want to look into more. Families can set up multiple types of alerts, such as when a purchase is made above a specified amount or when a Visa card is trying to be used at a merchant you have set as blocked. Additional family members, friends, or others involved in care can be added to receive account alerts as well.

5. Adjust spending rules if your loved one’s situation changes

Alerts about blocked transactions can sometimes signal a need for spending settings to be temporarily adjusted. For example, if your loved one’s Visa card only allows purchases at pharmacies and grocery stores and they want to buy their sister a present for her birthday, you may want to add a specific merchant to the “allowed” list for the day.

If your loved one’s situation changes more permanently or you notice increasingly concerning behavior, you can also make longer-term changes to the spending settings in your Spending Monitor. or if your loved one's mobility decreases and they can no longer leave the facility as often as they’d like, you may want to add a food delivery service to the allowed list so they can still enjoy their favorite restaurants. 

6. Multiple family members can send money to their loved one’s Visa card

If you are sharing financial responsibilities with other family members, True Link can be a straight-forward way for multiple people to manage and send money to their loved one. Transferring money to a Visa card can be done online from anywhere — either through one-time transfers (which can be helpful in case of emergencies) or by setting up recurring transfers. Funding can come from many sources, such as Social Security payments, a bank account, a trust, or other funding source. With True Link, you can avoid having a middle-person handling funds, and families can receive alerts when money is low to help ensure their loved one always has what they need.

7. Keep records and pull reports as you need

When a family member takes on the role of financial guardian or financial power of attorney, this can come with legal reporting requirements. In addition to pulling account statements, True Link makes it easy to keep thorough records and pull the required reports as you need them to help you stay compliant with rules and regulations. You can download a range of reports on Visa card usage directly from your online account — including monthly statements, transaction reports, and more.

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Moving into a long-term care facility can be a major transition for your loved one – especially when this change also comes with handing over some aspect of their financial management. True Link offers solutions that can help make it easier for family members to balance their desire to protect their loved one’s finances while maintaining their loved one’s own independence. And while finances are only one part of this type of transition, it can be a challenging and sensitive part, and with the right strategies you can navigate this delicate territory while maintaining a healthy relationship throughout the process.