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1. Have a meticulously planned retirement budget- income/expenses/tax loads/RMDs for 30 years? Check.
2. Health is great for me and wife? Check.
3. Paying off debt exactly according to plan? Check.
4. Planning for, and finding Healthcare strategy that is well within means? Check.
5. Cars, house in great shape? Check.
6. DW's ex spouse (and personal friend), quite sick in hospital in Germany. His short-term apartment lease expires before he can be released. No healthcare. No friends there. No family there. Mobility is now poor, and needs immediate help. Needs lodging, care. Covered?
.....uh.....well....
...OK, yea. We won't let a friend starve on the street and die alone. Looks like our retirement budget is now due for a complete revamp.
Anybody else have a sudden punch in the face after thinking everything is humming along all rosy??
You neglected to mention if the Ex has any family here in US. Who else can help?
Is he expected to recover?
I don't know what his lease has to do with anything. Surely it can be extended until Ex either comes home or his belongings can be moved or put in storage.
What income does he have? What savings does he have?
Is he old enough for Medicare?
I don't think you should use your retirement savings to pay for his care. As a friend, you could (if you want) assist him to come home and help find a suitable living arrangement for him, maybe tell the landlord what is going on and arrange for payment for next month's rent. Find out about what social services he qualifies for (such as Medicaid), home health care, subsidized housing, etc. In other words, be helpful but don't take him on as a dependent.
Good questions. Yes, your first question is a tough one. He does have family here, but inquiries returned '...we have a lot going on now...'.
About his apt lease, when he is well enough for release, he is going to be released from the hospital with nowhere to go. He doesn't have much, but what he does have is in the apartment wherever that is. We don't know who he is leasing the apartment from, and he isn't responding very well to questions. That is why we are trying to bring him back here- wife is flying to Germany tomorrow to find him; we know the name of the hospital and what city it is in. Recovery is hard to ascertain; he has a phone with texting capability, but questions about his health either return no answers, or answers of 'I don't know'. Calls to the reception are met with people with no English capability, last one took an hour to locate him in the hospital. Income is 1500 mo SS; savings unknown; he is in his 80s, has Medicare, but it is not accepted over there.
We will try not to use our savings to pay for his care, but we have spent over 2 grand in the last 5 days on plane tickets just to bring him home so we can figure out what to do.
This is depressing.
Make sure you investigate his healthcare and other options in Germany. They usually have better than what we have and it's available to everyone. They also take better care of the poor and the elderly than we do here.
Good questions. Yes, your first question is a tough one. He does have family here, but inquiries returned '...we have a lot going on now...'.
About his apt lease, when he is well enough for release, he is going to be released from the hospital with nowhere to go. He doesn't have much, but what he does have is in the apartment wherever that is. We don't know who he is leasing the apartment from, and he isn't responding very well to questions. That is why we are trying to bring him back here- wife is flying to Germany tomorrow to find him; we know the name of the hospital and what city it is in. Recovery is hard to ascertain; he has a phone with texting capability, but questions about his health either return no answers, or answers of 'I don't know'. Calls to the reception are met with people with no English capability, last one took an hour to locate him in the hospital. Income is 1500 mo SS; savings unknown; he is in his 80s, has Medicare, but it is not accepted over there.
We will try not to use our savings to pay for his care, but we have spent over 2 grand in the last 5 days on plane tickets just to bring him home so we can figure out what to do.
This is depressing.
Seems your info is pretty spotty. Does your wife know more about where he lives and what his financial situation is? How did you even find out he was in the hospital in Germany? How would they have found his ex-wife as next of kin?
I would get back on the phone with the family who are too busy and tell them their father/brother/cousin needs help, starting with helping to pay for the plane tickets home.
Might want to call or email the American Embassy over there. They may be able to help arrange his flight home or maybe provide a translator to go to the hospital to find out what is going on.
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