I-Team's Call For Action helps man get refund from assisted living facility after wife's death
BOSTON - A widower, Jim Lloyd met Camille later in life. The couple fell in love and after several years together, they decided to get married on the spur of the moment. "We planned a trip to Hawaii, and I said, 'Hey, how would you like to get married?'" he recalled.
After two decades together, Camille developed dementia and in June, she moved to an assisted living facility on the North Shore. Months later, she developed pneumonia and was briefly hospitalized. Jim says she recovered and went back to the facility. "The staff said she was in a great mood... talking coherently ... passed away. That was Labor Day, the 5th of September," Jim recalled.
While still grieving from the loss of his wife, Jim was also trying to settle his account at the facility. He claims that he was initially told he would get a refund of several thousand dollars for the money he paid for the rest of the month of September. But days later, an administrator at the facility told him he wasn't eligible for a refund because he didn't give enough notice. "You had to give 30-days notice even though someone passed away. That seems ridiculous to me," he said.
Unable to get his money back, Jim reached out to the I-Team's Call for Action, and we contacted the facility's parent company, Benchmark Senior Living.
A spokesperson told us:
We have been working closely with the husband of a beloved Atrium at Veronica Drive resident who sadly recently passed. We believe the matter has been resolved to the husband's satisfaction. Out of respect for his and his wife's privacy, we will not discuss any further details. As always, Benchmark Senior Living is committed to meeting the needs of our residents and their families.
To answer your question about Benchmark's notice policy: A 30-day notice period when ending a lease is standard practice in assisted living and the multifamily rental industry as a whole - both here in Massachusetts and across the country. It is customary as residents or family members need sufficient time to remove furniture and other belongings when occupancy ends, while also allowing property owners time to prepare for a new tenant.
"Because of Call for Action, they have agreed to reimburse me for the 25-days I paid for," Jim said. "I definitely appreciate Call for Action, no doubt."
Jim said he promised to donate a portion of the refund to the Salvation Army.
In Massachusetts most assisted living facilities operate with a landlord tenant lease that requires a 30-day notice to terminate. But we found other states like New Hampshire, have laws to protect families who are only required to pay facilities a maximum of 10 days after a loved one dies.