My name is Jaiden Rodriguez, and my Abuelo, Anibal Rodriguez-Jimenez, passed away unexpectedly on August 23, 2026, at 5:20 PM.

Since then, my dad has been doing everything he can to arrange my Abuelo’s funeral and burial while also dealing with Medicaid, attorneys, the cemetery, paperwork, bills, probate, and everything else that comes with losing a parent.

What makes this situation especially difficult is that our family is not here because my Abuelo was financially irresponsible, because my dad mismanaged his money, or because no one planned ahead.

We are here because of the way the Medicaid long-term care system works.

Before my Abuelo passed away, he needed full-time nursing home care. The cost of that level of care is far beyond what most families can afford on their own, so my dad was working with Bratton Law Group to apply for Medicaid long-term care coverage for him.

To qualify, my Abuelo was required to reduce the countable assets held in his name to approximately $2,000.

That meant that in the months leading up to the application, my dad had to carefully “spend down” my Abuelo’s checking and savings according to Medicaid rules. Money couldn’t simply be placed aside for a future emergency. Transactions had to be documented, accounted for, and supported with a paper trail so that the attorneys and Medicaid could verify exactly where the money went.

My dad followed that process because it was what had to be done for my Abuelo to have any chance of receiving the long-term care he needed.

His Medicaid application was submitted at the end of July. After that, Medicaid requested additional documentation, with a deadline of August 25.

Then, completely unexpectedly, my grandfather passed away on August 23, just two days before that deadline.

My dad still submitted the requested documents on August 25, but my Abuelo passed before his Medicaid eligibility could ever be resolved.

And that is how we ended up here.

The money that might otherwise have helped pay for his funeral had already been spent down as part of qualifying him for long-term care. The limited funds remaining at the time of his death are not simply money our family can take and use for a funeral. They are tied up in the Medicaid and estate accounting process, and whether any of those funds will eventually become available depends on the estate, possible claims, and probate.

Even if some money ultimately becomes available, that process does not solve the problem we are facing right now: my Abuelo needs to be buried now.

The simplest way I can explain it is this: My Abuelo needed full-time care. To qualify for government assistance with that care, he essentially had to become financially impoverished first. Our family followed the rules. We documented everything. We spent down his assets as required. We submitted the Medicaid application. And then he passed away before the process could be completed.

So now the money that once existed is gone or unavailable, the benefit we were trying to qualify him for can no longer solve the problem in front of us, and our family is left trying to pay for a funeral and burial with very little immediately available to do it.

That is the part of this system that feels so broken.

There is almost no room for what happens when someone dies in the middle of this process. The family is left grieving while also trying to navigate Medicaid, estate rules, funeral costs, cemetery costs, deadlines, and paperwork, all while the resources that could have helped have already been reduced because that was the requirement for obtaining care in the first place.

Thankfully, my Abuelo already has a burial plot at Sacred Heart Cemetery that is completely paid for.

But even with the plot already owned, the funeral home expenses and the cemetery costs to open and close the grave still bring the minimum cost to nearly $6,000. That is already after the funeral home reduced the cost as much as they could for our family.

We are not trying to have a huge or extravagant funeral.

We are simply trying to give my Abuelo a basic, proper burial and lay him to rest with dignity.

My dad has been reaching out everywhere he can think of for help. He has contacted Social Services, continued dealing with the pending Medicaid situation, reached out to the church and Diocese, and explored whatever assistance might possibly be available.

Unfortunately, none of those avenues has provided the immediate help needed to bury my Abuelo.

On top of all of this, when my Abuelo went into long-term care, my dad also had to take over the financial responsibilities connected to the family home. Those expenses did not disappear when my Abuelo became ill, and they certainly did not disappear when he passed away.

My dad hates asking anyone for money. I know he never imagined that after doing everything he was told to do to take care of his father, he would end up in a position where he could not afford to bury him.

I’ve watched him try to hold everything together while grieving his dad at the same time. That is why I’m making this GoFundMe.

If anyone is able to help our family, no matter the amount, we would be incredibly grateful. Every dollar raised will go toward my Abuelo’s funeral and burial expenses.

And if you aren’t in a position to donate, sharing this fundraiser would mean just as much to us. The more people who see it, the better chance we have of getting my Abuelo laid to rest.

Thank you to everyone who has already reached out to my dad and our family, checked on us, called, texted, prayed for us, or offered support. It has meant more than you probably realize.

None of us expected to be in this position.

We followed the rules that were supposed to help my Abuelo receive the care he needed. Unfortunately, those same circumstances left our family with almost no resources when he died.

We’re just trying to give Abuelo the dignified burial he deserves and take even a little of this weight off my dad’s shoulders.

Thank you for reading, donating, sharing, or simply keeping our family in your thoughts