A personal care agreement should include the following basic information:
- When the care will begin.
- What tasks you'll perform. Be specific and thorough, but also include the term "or similar tasks to be mutually agreed upon by the parties." This gives you both some flexibility, so that you won't feel like you need to rewrite the agreement every time you change the tasks you perform.
- How often, and for how many hours, you'll provide this care.
- How much you'll be paid, and when the payment will be made.
- How long the agreement will stay in effect. This can be a set time, like six months or a year, after which you can both decide whether you want to make any changes. It may be simpler, though, to make the contract open-ended, described with a phrase such as, "This agreement shall remain in force until terminated in writing by either party." In that case, either of you can end the arrangement at any time simply by writing a signed, dated note saying that the agreement is over, and giving the note to the other person.
- A statement that the terms of the agreement can be changed only by mutual agreement, in writing, by both parties.
I am so thankful for this site and those that bother to share your experiences even when you have worked through your own problems. Our VA application for Aid and Attendance was denied yesterday after 13 months. I never knew I could include my care as unreimbursed medical expenses. I shall appeal the decision and pray for the best. I really really need respite more than anything and my county doesn't have the money though she is on the list for care. Recently we had to by a walk-in tub because we could no longer give her a shower. The Dr. gave us a prescription for it, I'm hoping that we can get help paying for that also. If anyone has any words of wisdom about this, I welcome your comments.
Reference to source for boilerplate; book happens to be of even wider use, as well.
i have afew questions,...i need to know how can i get paid to care for a family elderly 81yr. old lady..on a week bases afew days a week... because i do not work myself and it would cost me to travel about a 35 to 40mile trip to her each week. and she needs cleaning of her apt. food shopping, and alittle help bathing and proper dressing.. im on a fix income of s.s.i..
I really needed this information my mother is currently living with my sister in Va beach. My mother just had a stroke my sister take care of my mother personal needs and care she also work away from home. Now since my mother had a stroke she is going to need some extra care. My sister really don't know what direction to go with getting extra help in taking car my mother i can't help right now because i live in stone mountain Ga.
Hello Anonymous, Thank you for your question. Unfortunately, we do not have an online resource you are looking for. I suggest doing a Google search to find the type of template or form you are looking for. @Mary Reygoute Thanks for your comment. Here are a few links to articles we have on the subject of being paid to be a caregiver: ( http://www.caring.com/questions/how-to-become-a-paid-caregiver), ( http://www.caring.com/questions/medicaid-caregiver-pay ), ( http://www.caring.com/questions/how-to-get-paid-to-be-a-caregiver-for-parents ). I hope that helps, take care -- Emily | Community Manager
I live in the state of Georgia and I am a caregiver with 5 years of experience. I would like to take care of my mom who has Alzheimer's. She is eligible for medicaid and to have a caregiver. Does the state of Georgia have a program like cash and counseling so that i can take care of my mom and get paid? Please email me with information please. Thank you.
is there a generic service agreement form easily available out there?
The legal agreement forms
Hello Barbara Johnson, Thanks for your comment. Here are a few links to articles we have on the subject of being paid to be a caregiver: ( http://www.caring.com/questions/how-to-become-a-paid-caregiver), ( http://www.caring.com/questions/medicaid-caregiver-pay ), ( http://www.caring.com/questions/how-to-get-paid-to-be-a-caregiver-for-parents ). I hope that helps, take care -- Emily | Community Manager
I have been taking care of my mother-in-law for the past two year, I am her caregiver. I am with her 24 hr of the day., I am unemployed at this present time. I need to know how can I get paid? Please e-mail with the information. Thank you
Hi agodlywoman, Thank you very much for your question. If you'd like, you can post your question in our Ask & Answer section, here: ( http://www.caring.com/ask ). Take care -- Emily | Community Manager
my friend agreed to be caregiver for her dad, with alzheimers. 11 years later, it has become a disater. he's breaking up her house, getting more violent. the only door she can lock is her bedroom. she's a court reporter and can't even lock her office. they come in and check her house all the time. she's really had it. high blood pressure, stress, etc. how can she get out of being his caregiver so he can go live in an assisted living home? thanks. we're in s.c.
This was very help for me. I do take care of both parent by the request of my dad.
Thank you all so much you do not know how much the caring.com site and all the caregivers have helped me. HUGS & PRAYERS to everyone/
Hi anonymous, sorry to hear about your difficult situation. I think calling both services would be useful, as you could probably gain a lot of information from both. You may also find this article about being paid to be a caregiver useful: (http://www.caring.com/articles/payment-for-family-caregiver) I hope that helps. Good luck! -- Emily | Community Manager
I have 2 elderly aunts that live with me, they both have AD can I get paid as caregiver for taking care of both of them. I live in Ct one of my aunts so far has a connect card from the State of Conn Social Services Dept. She needed a new walker and when i called the medical supply store they said the medicaid card she has was a different kind of plan and did not cover that or disposable diapers that she wears? i s this true or should I call Medicaid for conn or social services to find out what she is covered for??
It's no way for this agreement to stand on any ground when the parent's brain has already deteriated and her memory is almost gone. At the time when this agreement is needed, it's to late.
I have written in the past couple of years concerning my mother who miraculously survived cancer at 81. Immedately following that 7 months my husbands health, both physical and even worse, mental, took a plunge. From the living hell of being held as a POW by this. Vietnam vet, I received the most dreaded phone call a mother can receive. Our 28 yr old son was injured in another state in critical condition. That was 182 days ago and I remain by his bedside. He will remain in hospital until major surgery in 6 more months. He has amazed us thus far and is truly the second miracle I have witnessed. He will be hospitalized several months after that surgery. I ask for your prayers as I deal with 3 very needy loved ones. How does one spread themselves thin enough to handle it? My most important source of strength is my faith in God. Please pray for my "baby boy" Nick. He has such a long way to go.
Hugs joy in the journey!, thriving 1, debdavis, The Caregiver's Voice, delftmom3
Prayers debdavis
Even if there is no doubt [now] about the agreement with a family member, the one thing that is virtually certain is that nothing is certain, especially looking to the future. People change their minds, remember differently, are subject to new influences. Involvement of any agency of government will cause all agreements to loose their 'humanity' and become rigid and cold, legalistic and formal. In our times and in this so-called advanced society, the giving and keeping of one's word has lost most meaning and value; and for sure, the damned courts will not give verbal agreements much credence unless both parties in a dispute agree on what was said. Involvement of courts invariably means involvement of lawyers [except in Judge Judy's courtroom!] and they can be counted on to make things more complicated and expensive - So, 'get it in writing' is a doctrine that will serve you well and never harm you unless you want to be able to equivocate later; in which case you belong with the lawyers and deserve what they do to you. This is not to say you might not need a lawyer to help you out of a jam - created by other lawyers, its just that as a class of people they have so screwed up our laws and society that honor and one's word are alien concepts to them - and the rest of us are stuck with the fallout. I noticed you wrote: "That will make the process quicker and therefore less expensive. If you do use a lawyer, it shouldn't take more than a couple of hours of the lawyer's time." I don't know your frame of reference, but with lawyers routinely charging $300-$500 an hour for Elder Care and Family law, a 'couple of hours' is damned expensive. Granted, it could save thousands later - see the comments about lawyers, and how we need lawyers to fight lawyers!! Ad infinitum!!! The two most important things I did with regard to my care for my mother was 1] Develop a written agreement with her which we called, "Agreement for Care and Shared Living" which delineated what we would do for Mom and our ability to live in her house, and what she would pay for and what we would pay for. We developed it without lawyers and it has stood up in court for five years with no challenge, though my sister has challenged virtually every other decision we made. It works best if it is signed in the presence of a Notary or other 'official' witness;which gives both the date of signing and the voluntary nature of the agreement credibility. 2] Have the party receiving care assessed for their competence by a neurologist or similar medical professional to demonstrate competence to enter the agreement. This assessment should precede attempting to create the agreement AND be followed by a repeat assessment a significant amount of time after the agreement is entered. This process is to show the person was competent to enter the agreement with 'informed knowledge' and was competent long enough after the agreement that they were not 'on the edge' of competence and/or subject to 'undue influence in entering the agreement. My experience with the legal information provided through Nolo Press is that they provide excellent support. Do not stop thinking because you use their stuff - your own mind is still your best defense! Best Regards Bob
Hi lroberts, Thanks for your comment. I agree with The Caregiver's Voice, your question sounds like it would be great for Ask & Answer. You can post your question here: http://www.caring.com/questions/new. Thanks again -- Emily | Community Manager
Hugs The Caregiver's Voice
LRoberts, you asked 2 questions: Is the income from the personal care agreement taxable to the caregiver? YES, it is counted as income and therefore subject to taxes. Is the one receiving care considered the employer regardless if the caregiver is family or not? I would think so; but it depends on your arrangement. I was my father's conservator/fiduciary and do not recall falling under an employer/ee relationship. I would recommend scanning Caring.com's 50 experts and posing this second question to the appropriate legal/financial expert.
Hugs Emily M.
Is the income from the personal care agreement taxable to the caregiver and is the one receiving care considered the employer regardless if the caregiver is family or not?
Take 2: For some reason my initial comment didn't get through. If the first three bullet points on page 1 are true across all 50 states, then this is truly a helpful guide. When my husband and I moved my father into our home, I was his POA and DPOHC. Due to the contentious relationship with my siblings, I sought a voluntary conservatorship. Despite the expense and hassle (court appearances), I wanted to feel secure that a court was overseeing everything I did. My father's heirs received quarterly and annual accountings and updates. I didn't want to fear being sued upon my father's death and this was the best route to take. You can read the details in "Where's my shoes?" My Father's Walk through Alzheimer's (forgive the self-promotion ; o ) at http://www.thecaregiversvoice.com/products-services/tcv-books/
i take carem of my husband 24 hrs a day i cant work we cant live off his disability isnt there a program that pays me for his care giver
I hhave been paying my daughter for the past 7 months to take care of me she quit her job in another state to come live with me i was in a Rehab for 3 months Doctors did not want me to go home without someone to help me i have had several small strokes have COPD and lost all of my strength and Fybromilga is very bad i have had to get a loan at the bank because i have went threw all my saving's i have 2 CDs but the one is not due to cash out till 8/2011 can i get any help with haveing CDs
It let me know of options i did not know about before such as paying a family member and what states have the programs
My sister has had POA for our mom for about 3 years yet she claimed she did not know she had it. I never did believe her but did not wish to challenge her. When we went for guardianship I learned so much about accounts and other things that I never knew my mother had because my sister never shared this information with me. Later she said that Mom had taught her how to roll over CD's etc. The attorney pointed out that my sister had several owner accts with my mom on the majority of the money and that did I know about it.? She pretended she did not realize she was co-owner and later claimed our mom did this with her on purpose. The atty. suggested to make them "as trustee" but she refuses to do so claiming that it makes it easier for her to control the money the way it is when the CD's come due. She is the Executrix and now the irrevocable power of atty because of a suspicious character our mother's age that lives with her at her home. If it were not for this person appearing to take some of mom's money, I would still be in the dark about everything. My mom now has dementia and was claimed by the court to be incompetent to take care of her financial affairs. WE did not get the guardianship but the court decided to do an irrevocable power of attorney for my sister. I went through a lot with my sister this summer and trusted her entirely until some things of suspicion started happening which would take too long to go into. I asked her to please share with me all the accounts that she knew about not just those that she supplied to the atty. for the guardianship. I then told her that we needed to get our hands on her past income taxes. I told her with her POA she would have no problem getting those. She claimed to not have them. When I phoned and told her that I was going to ask the roomer Mom lived with about them she then admitted she had the past 3 years. I was dumbfounded and told her to please send me copies. (By the way, the boyfriend my sister lives with is a CPA and she is getting advice from him and told me she was going to let him do our mother's taxes.) Also when she transferred a huge CD the other day from where my mom lived to her town which is about 1 1/2 hrs away, she claimed it was due and she would be able to get more interest for it. She did let me know what she did. When I compared what she transferred (because of the info.supplied on the guardianship papers all the interest of almost $20000 was not there. She said she did not believe I could have seen this so fast and that she was going to use that interest money in case she needed the money for emergency for our mom.. My sister already had a checking account of about $l6000. I told her if she would not mind sending me a balance sheet as to where all the money is spent and what expenses mama would have and also, to please send me a copy of the past 3 years tax returns. I got a very heartbreaking and terrible email from her saying that I was too curious and wanted to know for my own benefit etc. She is 10 years younger than me, and has always lived closer to mom than me, but I really cared for her and could not believe that she said she is not going to give me anymore information. I am now suspicious that more truth will be evident in those 1040s and 1099s. What are my rights as the first daughter (by the way I have a brother five years younger that says he trusts his baby sister and does not want to be bothered but says upon our mother's passing that everything should be split 3 ways.) I agree with this, but he does not know some of the details about my sisters actions. She is very slick. I've seen her operate and has worked in a jail with convicts for many years. She has had cancer and I told her I really need to know everything and she said that was just an excuse to find out everything. and.. why shouldn't I? Like I said the email to me was very shocking and hurtful. What should I do?and what rights do I have.? I love my mom but I cannot go to her now with her mixed up mind. She still is keen to a certain degree but it would not matter since my sister is in complete control. I have a stable marriage and a great husband that had welcomed my sister to come live with us when her CPA boyfriend was going to kick her out and we are retired and happy, except for this fiasco now. I am so disappointed in my sister, and wonder now if she has been taking money all along that she does not wish me to know about. I just cannot understand her actions. Please advise.
I live in the state of AZ. could you please tell the steps i have to go threw to get paid from medicare a and b
If you make a care agreement with your parents, do you become their employee and cause them to have to pay social security taxes, etc.?
I am looking for a care giver for my mom (24hrs)private to live in at her house,I need to know if you have any forms or an application, for the caregivers to fill out when I interview them.thanks maria
Thanks Caring.com for Excellant Imformation you have given to me and to all who come to this Site.I MUST commend you on this Very imformative site. BRAVO to you all.. Janice Elaine Olson