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Alan G. Orlowsky
(847)325-5559 |
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Caregiver Agreements
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For most, a family caregiver is usually the child of an
elderly parent. Often it is a full time - unpaid job.
While we love our parents and grandparents, no one is ever
prepared for the burden of providing elder care. It can be
a physical, emotional, and financial drain. It also
creates some fundamental unfairness among children as the
child providing the care gives up a lot.
One of
our colleagues relates this story about his client, Ellen.
Ellen was recovering at home in Massachusetts for
weeks after a major hip replacement. Ellen, 82 and
independent, underestimated how long the recovery would
take. She was not ready for round the clock nursing home
care, but she needed assistance taking her medication on
time and getting back and forth to doctors and other
service providers. The only one of her children who was
able to take her in was her youngest daughter, Jane, who
lived in Ohio.
To ensure that Ellen was safe and
well cared for, Jane moved her mother to Ohio to live with
her and her family. Jane had three teenage children and
she owned her own business. The responsibility of taking
care of her mother hit Jane with a bang.
Every
night Jane was up and down with her mom at least 2 to 3
times. She transported her back and forth to doctors, hair
appointments, dentists, physical therapists and many other
activities. While Jane loved spending the time with her
mom, that increased commitment took energy away from the
family business as well as the needs of her husband and
children.
After discussing the matter, Ellen
agreed that Jane should be compensated (although that is a
term that did not sit well with either one) for the time
Jane spent caring for Ellen. In the end, they were both
happy with the decision. Ellen was well cared for and
living with loved ones and Jane was happy that she could
afford to spend the time with her mother.
Both
Ellen and Jane decided that the best thing to do was to
visit a lawyer to have a caregiver agreement written to
cover all the key points of the agreement between Ellen
and Jane so there would be no misunderstandings, including
problems with Jane’s siblings.
Later, when Ellen
had to enter a nursing home, the caregiver agreement
helped to protect Ellen’s estate from potentially costly
nursing home expenses.
A caregiver agreement can
keep everyone on the same page and reduce family stress.
It can assure that the family member caregiver will be
paid for the substantial time spent providing care. In
addition, such agreements may be able to help with
Medicaid eligibility.
Next month we will look at
some of the key points to be covered in a care giver
agreement.
If you have questions,
click
here to have our office call to set up a time to
discuss this with you.
To return to the newsletter go back to your email
inbox. |
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nature. For that reason, no one should take any action based on
the information contained in this webpage until having consulted
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Orlowsky & Wilson, Ltd. | 250 Parkway Dr., Suite 150, Lincolnshire, IL 60069 |
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