Compensation for Family Member Caregivers
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Most children of elderly parents oversee some area of their parents' care. It may be something not too time-consuming, such as their monthly finances or occasional doctors' appointments. But sometimes adult children find themselves becoming a full-time caregiver.
This can lead to the family member having to cut back on their own work hours or make a career decision based on their need to live close to their parent. If the caregiving becomes a full-time job, it is important for the person who is overseeing the majority of their parent's care to protect themselves and their families' financial future. Once the caregiving has impacted your own finances, you should think about some financial compensation. Your parent would not want you to suffer financial consequences for taking care of them.
It's important to have a dialogue with other siblings or involved relatives. When you agree on terms, it is then time to put it in writing. Caregiver.org has a section dedicated to helping families create a Personal Care Agreement. The benefit to these agreements is everything is clearly spelled out and agreed upon in advance, making it less likely for any future misunderstandings.
Elements to the agreement may include detailed responsibilities of the care, the amount of time required and the amount of compensation. You can also speak to an attorney to make sure you follow a proper periodical for setting up these agreements. The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys allows you to search for a lawyer who specializes in elder law in your area.
The Family Caregiver Alliance: National Center on Caregiving is an excellent place for family caregivers to find a variety of resources as well as support. They offer a monthly newsletter which will cover topics of interest.
Caregiver.org also offers a list of tips for how to get paid as a family member caregiver. They offer steps to find out if your state's Medicaid program will pay a family member for providing care to a Medicaid recipient.
Also see USA.gov's online section for caregivers.
Many government programs allow family members of veterans and people with disabilities to get paid for caring for them.
- The Medicaid Self-Directed Care program lets qualified people manage their own health services. It also lets them hire family members as caregivers in some states.
- The Veteran-Directed Home and Community Based Services program offers veterans a flexible budget. This allows them to choose goods and services they find most useful, including hiring a family member or neighbor as a personal care aide.
- Aid and Attendance benefits for veterans work in conjunction with a VA pension. These benefits help cover the costs of a caregiver, who may be a family member. Contact the VA pension management center in your area for rules and conditions.
Remember to consult your financial adviser, accountant or CPA to find out if you would be considered an independent contractor. If so, you might be able to start a small employer pension such as a Simplified Employee Pension. You may also be able to deduct certain expenses you incur.
About the author: Jeanette Pavini is a two-time Emmy Award winning consumer reporter completely over 10,000 money-saving stories. She is a columnist for The Street's Retirement Daily, and a contributor to various news outlets and a guest contributor for The Today Show. Her work has appeared in MarketWatch, The Wall Street Journal Weekend and USA Today. She was the chief consumer reporter for CBS 5 News in San Francisco where her money-saving segments became the backbone to her 30-minute consumer show.