I will continue over the next week to discuss the issues posed in the elder law area. You can feel free to leave a comment or ask a question in this area and I will answer it for all our readers.
As we age, certain decisions have to be made regarding our accommodations. Often families "downsize" when their children leave home. They look for a place that is more manageable for a smaller family. Consideration is also given to whether the home has stairs or not to make it easier for seniors with health issues.
Even when health issues are more acute, most people prefer to stay in their own home if they possibly can. This is not a surprise. As a result of this preference, most care is provided at home, by family or by hired help. This does have many consequences some of which may be quite unexpected.
To begin with, family members shoulder most of the responsibility of caring for elders at home. Being the primary caregiver for someone who requires assistance with activities of daily living, such as walking, eating, dressing, and going to the bathroom can be an all-consuming and exhausting task. An important consideration is the question of equity with other family members when one family member has the sole responsibility of caring for a parent or other elder relative. Should a child be compensated for the work? If the parent is living with a child, does the parent help pay for the house? If the care is taking place in the parent’s home, should the child have an ownership interest in the house?
For parents with only one child, such arrangements may not be so complicated, but if the parent has more than one child, equity does become an issue. An arrangement that seems equitable today may not seem that way after a child has devoted a number of years to the parent’s care. If a plan is set up that is fair for several years of care, what happens if the parent suddenly moves into a nursing home during the first year? With no planning for such eventualities, the care of a parent can foster resentment and guilt among family members.
The family care agreement or sometimes referred to as a personal service contract has been a way to address some of these issues. It is an agreement between an elderly person and one or more persons (family member or unrelated person) to provide care including housing if necessary for the elderly person for a specified term which may be for life.
More on the family agreement tomorrow. Leave a comment or contact us at http://www.ythlaw.com/
As we age, certain decisions have to be made regarding our accommodations. Often families "downsize" when their children leave home. They look for a place that is more manageable for a smaller family. Consideration is also given to whether the home has stairs or not to make it easier for seniors with health issues.
Even when health issues are more acute, most people prefer to stay in their own home if they possibly can. This is not a surprise. As a result of this preference, most care is provided at home, by family or by hired help. This does have many consequences some of which may be quite unexpected.
To begin with, family members shoulder most of the responsibility of caring for elders at home. Being the primary caregiver for someone who requires assistance with activities of daily living, such as walking, eating, dressing, and going to the bathroom can be an all-consuming and exhausting task. An important consideration is the question of equity with other family members when one family member has the sole responsibility of caring for a parent or other elder relative. Should a child be compensated for the work? If the parent is living with a child, does the parent help pay for the house? If the care is taking place in the parent’s home, should the child have an ownership interest in the house?
For parents with only one child, such arrangements may not be so complicated, but if the parent has more than one child, equity does become an issue. An arrangement that seems equitable today may not seem that way after a child has devoted a number of years to the parent’s care. If a plan is set up that is fair for several years of care, what happens if the parent suddenly moves into a nursing home during the first year? With no planning for such eventualities, the care of a parent can foster resentment and guilt among family members.
The family care agreement or sometimes referred to as a personal service contract has been a way to address some of these issues. It is an agreement between an elderly person and one or more persons (family member or unrelated person) to provide care including housing if necessary for the elderly person for a specified term which may be for life.
More on the family agreement tomorrow. Leave a comment or contact us at http://www.ythlaw.com/
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