The New York Times article: Jobless Turn to Family for Help profiles 62-year-old Jean Ley of Warrenton, Oregon who lost her job as a mental health counselor in June 2008. She has not found another job since then.

She had little savings. Unemployment benefits were not going to be enough to pay her bills. She was at risk of losing her home here on the Oregon coast.

[...]

But the assistance proved more than temporary. A year and half later, her son’s regular payments covering her mortgage and occasional emergencies, like a car repair or arthritis medication, have proven to be her bulwark from economic catastrophe.

“If my family weren’t able to help me out at this point, I wouldn’t have a home,” she said. “And I would be struggling.”

Her son, who is married and has two young children has been paying his Mother’s $750 a month mortgage, plus helping out with other unexpected costs (car repairs, etc).

View the audio slideshow to really get a sense on how this is impacting the whole family.

This is a hard situation all the way around. I know what it is like to help your Mother with a mortgage payment. But back in 2008 when I gave my Mother $10,000 it was used to payoff the mortgage balance (she surprised me in late 2009 by paying me back after receiving an unexpected inheritance). Jean’s son Matt (and his wife) have signed up for a monthly payment which they could be paying for decades. That is $9,000 per year just for the mortgage!

Selling the house and having Jean move in with the couple does not seem to be a solution they are contemplating. Perhaps buying Mom’s house for the existing mortgage balance and “renting” it to her would help them at least write off some of this help on their taxes?

Labels: Money Stories

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