Family gets nearly $200,000 refund from senior living community
Family gets nearly $200,000 refund from senior living community
A Milwaukee area family waited years for an entrance fee refund from St. Camillus, following their mother's death. The family tells Contact 6 they've finally received their refund of nearly $200,000.
MILWAUKEE - For two-and-a-half years, they waited for a six-figure refund. Debbie Ricciardi said after her mother's death in 2023, she expected a refund of her parents' entrance fee from their senior living community. They waited longer than she'd anticipated.
About two months ago, Ricciardi said her family finally got the refund check. She said it's an outcome that respects her parents' wishes.
Six-figure refund
The backstory:
In 2008, Robert and Rena Martin moved into St. Camillus, a faith-based non-profit in Wauwatosa. First, came the contract.
Robert and Rena Martin
"I was with my mom and dad when we signed it," said Ricciardi, the Martin's daughter. "I never thought twice about it."
St. Camillus is a life-plan community, offering independent living but also higher levels of care on one campus. It has a four-star rating on Charity Navigator and an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.
Included in the Martin's residency agreement were terms for a refund of their entrance fee of $199,900 after their deaths.
What they're saying:
Ricciardi said her parents wanted the money to go to their kids.
"My parents would have been so upset," said Ricciardi.
Debbie Ricciardi
Robert Martin died one year after moving into St. Camillus. His wife passed away 14 years later, in 2023.
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In the fall of 2025, Ricciardi met with Contact 6 for the first time. Her family was still waiting for the entrance fee to be refunded.
Ricciardi said they planned to put the money to good use.
St. Camillus
"I'm from a big family with seven children," said Ricciardi. "Two of our family members have significant disabilities,"
Dig deeper:
Contact 6 reviewed the Martin's contract with St. Camillus. The contract says the entrance fee will be refunded, but only after the unit is vacated and the next resident moves in. It says a refund "shall be made no later than 30 days after the Sponsor receives payment in full of the Entrance fee from the next resident of the apartment…"
Legal perspective
What we know:
Elder law attorney Carol Wessels of Wessels and Liebau told Contact 6 that the entrance fee refund policy is not uncommon.
"I've seen a fair amount of contracts with that language," said Wessels. "Once of the most concerning parts of that contract is when they say, "you'll get it back after we re-rent it."
Carol Wessels
Wessels said in that case, there's no guarantee families will get their money back.
The other side:
A St. Camillus spokesperson told Contact 6, "For more than a century, St. Camillus has been a trusted, faith-based nonprofit Life Plan Community ... Since the late 1980's, St. Camillus has operated with a contract model that is standard within the senior living community."
In the fall, Ricciardi told Contact 6 she didn't know the state of her parents' unit, if it was being shown, or whether a new residential tower at St. Camillus was drawing prospective renters away.
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Ricciardi said St. Camillus stopped communicating after her first story aired on FOX6 News in October.
St. Camillus
"Crickets. They would have not have anything to do with me," said Ricciardi.
In early 2026, Ricciardi got a phone call from a "salesperson" representing St. Camillus. She was told her parents' unit finally had a new tenant. When she sat down with Contact 6 again in late March, her family had received their full refund of nearly $200,000.
"It is somewhat ironic that within months of that (first) interview, the unit sold," said Ricciardi. "It could be coincidental, but I don't think so."
Ricciardi calls it "a happy ending."
Where the money goes
What's next:
LeadingAge Wisconsin is a membership association for nonprofit corporations serving aging adults. It told Contact 6, "Most Life Plan Communities across the state require a one-time entrance fee."
LeadingAge Wisconsin said entrance fees support housing, amenities, staffing, social and education activities and healthcare services. The fees can also secure housing and care as residents' needs change.
St. Camillus statement
What they're saying:
When contacted about the Martin's refund, a spokesperson for St. Camillus told Contact 6, "St. Camillus does not discuss matters related to specific residents for privacy reasons and out of respect for their entire community."
The Source: Information comes from Debbie Ricciardi, the Martin’s residency agreement, Carol Wessels, LeadingAge Wisconsin and St. Camillus.