I'm trying to help my mother apply for various social services including Medicaid so that we can get her assessed for her increasing memory problems and delusions.
I just got her set up for an in-home assessment. After I let her know what they needed, she informed me that her wallet had been "stolen" (pretty sure lost) with both her driver's license and social security card in it.
She doesn't know where her birth certificate is. When I look at websites for replacing her license (IL) or birth certificate (IN), they are all dependent on having at least one of the other documents.
Has anyone had any luck replacing ALL forms of identification? Or gotten senior services without them? The only good thing is she was able to accurately identify her social security number.
That only addresses opening new lines in your name. You have to call each credit card company to report a stolen or lost card so that people can't use your existing lines.
Make sure you deal with the bureau that reports on bank accounts too. A lot of people don't think about that. Fraudsters use your ID to open bank accounts. Some did that with my info once. I didn't know for years until I went to open up a new account and I got rejected since they said I had a history of bouncing checks. I was shocked. I've never been late on a payment let alone bounce a check. Turns out someone opened an account using my ID. Took a while to correct. Mostly correct anyways. That's fraudsters fake address is still listed as one of the addresses I lived at. I've never even been in that state.
I have a encrypted flash drive on my key chain with all my important documents (IDs, POAs, custody orders, etc) and I have them in a protected folder on Google drive so I can access them from my smart phone. As a techie, I consider this safer than having the physical documents in my purse. I'm terrible at remembering to place the latest proof of insurance in my car, but the cops accept the photo on my phone as proof the insurance is still current.
Then go to the DMV and get an ID card...
We have always been asked for ID, so I think it's important.
My mom with dementia successfully hid her birth certificate & social insurance card [ same is USA social security] for over 3 years in the NH - I found them long after I had to get them replaced -
When we cleaned out their home we found money in towels, bank statements under the shelf paper in the linen closet & we sent a dresser off to the auctioneer who found a package of 6 $50 bills [kudoos to his honesty] & we thought we had checked it out - if your mom is saying it was stolen then that could be an early sign of dementia where they hide things so they can't be stolen & forget but their mindset is for things to be stolen so when they can't find it then it is stolen
If she was baptized then try there first as that is semi-official & gives you something - I was able to get my mom's by applying to a gov't website - I asked for the 'long form' which has more info on it & while I was at it I also got a copy of her marriage certificate [long form] & my own birth certificate [long form] - these turned out to be handy when both mom & dad passed away as I needed them to complete some of the paperwork at the funeral home as here they now take the deceased person's parents names & where they were born as part of the record
So while you are at it try to get everything maybe a short version for her to have but keep a copy of everything for when not if you need it - you may need your grandparents names & some identify info on them to get those documents
To get the forms, I did have to show my ID, but since I'm her daughter it was not a problem. It was a small fee.
The DMV wanted her SSN and we just had come from her CPA's office and had copies of old tax forms. A 1040 with SSN was allowable as proof of SSN.
When I came up to the examiner with the paperwork and he asked me what we were there for, I naturally said, "For an ID card." The agent practically whispered (and she's giving up her driver license?) and I replied, "Absolutely!" He was truly happy.
Eventually we ordered her a new SS card and changed her address everywhere to a Post Office Box, a very cheap form of finding out what is actually coming to her address. At the end of the year, every bank account and stock should send a tax form of some kind, and we were able to change her address with all of those in hand. She could not lose those documents if she never saw them. Yes, we had POA.
The thing is, I think possibly a lot of time and trouble might be saved if someone could go to her home and help look for these things. Even if her wallet had been stolen, it's not like she'd have been carrying her birth certificate around in it; and how did she identify her social security number? - presumably not from memory; and all in all I'd get a strong impression that these documents aren't so much lost as just out of sight, out of mind, and she doesn't know where to begin looking for them. It may well be that they're not at all hard to find.
I understand that you wouldn't want a complete stranger rootling around among her personal papers, but is there anybody trustworthy you could call on to go and have a quick look?
Ditto with your Medicare card, if it still has your SSN as your Medicare I.D. number.
And while we're at it, simplify the credit cards for your parents. My mother-in-law has ONE credit card, and a debit card for each of her two bank accounts. Would not be difficult to freeze/stop if she were to lose her wallet.