Requirements of a Care Agreement

A care agreement is a formal agreement between two parties. One party is providing services. The other party is hiring said individual to provide said services. A care agreement
• must be a formal contract between parties;
• must name the parties involved in the care agreement.
• must outline service and duty terms.
• must outline payment terms.
• must outline breach of contract terms.
• must outline termination of contract terms.
• must outline length of time the contract is valid/active.
• must allow for mutual amendments or changes to contract.
• must be signed and dated by all parties (parent(s) and family member(s)).

Elements of Care in Care Agreements

Care agreements can be customized to each family’s particular situation. The following are basic elements of care that can be explained in a care agreement: 
• Personal Assistance
• Personal Hygiene
• Meals
• Laundry
• Housekeeping
• Transportation Services
• Yard Care
• Shopping
• Social Contacts
• Religious Needs
• Intellectual and Emotional Needs

Purposes of Family Care Agreements

There are many good reasons for families to enter into care agreements, particularly agreements in which a family member is paid for services rendered. 
First, a care agreement spells out for the parent, family, and third parties the details of care a family member will provide to an ailing parent. Caring for a parent even occasionally can be a physical, time-consuming, emotional, and financial burden for a family member. Acting as a parent’s full-time, primary caregiver can be deeply burdensome. A care agreement spells out details of care in a way that is illuminating and helpful for everyone involved.

Second, when a parent needs help, family members often rally around and provide service for their parents free of charge. But caring for a parent can be a significant financial burden, not to speak of the physical and emotional burdens (in taking time off work or in taking time away from their own family duties, for example). A wise parent will set forth in a care agreement details regarding compensation of family members for care services the family performs on the parent’s behalf.

Third, a memorialized care agreement prevents family resentments and disagreements regarding said payments. Misunderstandings and hurt feelings often occur in families during the time an aging parent is being cared for by family members. A carefully drafted care agreement protects in numerous ways a family member serving an aging parent.

Fourth, a care agreement has Medicaid advantages. Without a formal care agreement, the funds used to pay family members are treated as part of the ailing parent’s assets or income for Medicaid eligibility purposes. On the other hand, if an ailing parent is paying a family member (or anticipates paying a family member in the future) for services, a formal care agreement ensures that funds used to pay family members are not treated as the ailing parent’s assets or income for Medicaid eligibility requirements.

Family Care Agreements

A care agreement (also known as a family care agreement, personal care agreement, personal services agreement, care contract, etc.) is an agreement between a parent (or parents) and a family member (or members) in which the family member agrees to care for the parent and the parent agrees to pay the family member for the services performed on behalf of said parent.

The Basic Stages of Life

There are three basic stages of life when contemplating estate planning.

1. Individual is alive and mentally competent



2. Individual is alive and mentally incapacitated



3. Individual has died

Each of these stages is handled differently.

Individual is alive and mentally competent
When an individual is alive and mentally competent, estate planning documents can be in place, but most likely the documents are sleeping (or not being used) during this stage of life.

Individual is alive and mentally incapacitated
When an individual is alive but mentally incapacitated, there are certain estate documents that if prepared ahead of time allow family members to step in and begin acting on behalf of the incapacitated individual. The kind of documents that might be prepared for this stage of life are:

• health care power of attorney



• medical directive (pull-the-plug)



• health care directive



• financial power of attorney



• do not resuscitate (In Utah, an individual can only obtain a DNR by contacting a physician and filling out the DNR with the physician.)

If these documents are not in place before an individual becomes incapacitated, family members will go to court to obtain conservatorship or guardianship appointment in order to act for an incapacitated person.

Individual has died
When an individual has died, any powers of attorney used during incapacity becomes void and family members must turn to any will or trust that has been established to deal with this stage. If an individual has prepared a trust and/or will, family members can begin the process of accessing assets, paying bills, and distributing assets to the beneficiaries of the deceased person. If the person dies without estate documents in place, most likely the family members will need to go through probate to obtain authority to access and distribute any property of the deceased person.

In contemplating estate planning, it is important to be aware of the three stages of life and prepare for each stage.

How Can I Prevent Identity Theft?

There are many things you can do to reduce the risk of identity theft. The following is a quick guide to simple, but important ways to protect yourself and those you care about.

• Guard your personal information.


• Take your social security number off your driver's license and checks.


• Never carry documents containing personal information with you.


• Secure your mail and trash.


• Ask for a credit report at least twice a year.


• Consider removing your name from phone directories.


• Update computer protection regularly.

Credit reports can be obtained from one of the three major credit bureaus.
Equifax
Experian
TransUnion

After 36 Years, 100 Greek Relatives No Longer Prevail

A Florida judge ruled today that a will disposing of Jack Kerouac's estate is a fake. Kerouac, the Beat Generation author, left his estimated $20 million estate to his mother Gabrielle in a valid and accepted will. Gabrielle in turn allegedly signed a will, leaving Kerouac's estate and royalties to Kerouac's divorced wife Stella Sampas Kerouac, who was a devoted caretaker of Gabrielle. Gabrielle then died in 1973. For 21 years, Kerouac's estate and royalties were controlled by Stella Sampas Kerouac's family.

In 1994, Jan Kerouac, the author's daughter by another marriage, saw a copy of her grandmother Gabrielle's will and brought a suit contesting the validity of Gabrielle's will. During the process of the litigation, in 1996, Jan died and the suit was taken up by a nephew, Paul Blake.

The court ruled that Gabrielle was too sick before her death and could not have signed the will. Handwriting experts also determined Gabrielle's signature was fake.

The AP reports that shortly before his death from alcoholism at age 47, Jack Kerouac wrote his nephew Paul a letter, expressing his desire to leave all of his work and belongings behind to his mother, "and not to leave a dingblasted (two expletives) thing to my wife's one hundred Greek relatives," he wrote. Unfortunately, it seems the Greek relatives prevailed, until now.

Commentary by Hughes Estate Group. The entire problem here revolves around Jack's and Gabrielle's estate planning. First, if Jack did not ever want his estate going to his prior wife Stella, there are numerous things he could have done to prevent that and provide for his mother at the same time. Jack just didn't think clearly here.

Second, Gabrielle obviously did not do proper planning before she died. If she wanted to leave everything to Stella, she could have done so. If not, she could have done so. She apparently did not do anything, allowing her daughter-in-law Stell to prepare and sign a forged will.

Third, Jack's daughter Jan should have been all over this situation back in 1973, when her grandmother Gabrielle died. Why did she wait for 21 years until 1994 to bring a lawsuit? Hmmmm, there is more to this story than is reported. But, nevertheless, the problem ultimately rests with Jack and Gabrielle and their shortsightedness.

I (Craig Hughes) never cease to be amazed at the frequency in which many wealthy people turn off their minds when it comes to adequate estate planning. I can understand folks with modest estates not getting around to planning, but the frequency of stories in which the wealthy disengage their minds in regard to estate planning is interesting.

They really do like older people

Seaside town of Puducherry, India

Faced with crippling medical costs, Herzfeld took his mother and father from their home in Florida to India and managed to give them such a high level of care in the oceanside city of Puducherry (formerly Pondicherry) that they appeared to regain some quality of life and even dignity. Guardian via www.marginalrevolution.com

Walking Chair

More than Companionship

New York Times says it's time to care for our caregivers.

With more jobs being lost all the time across the board — more than 71,000 layoffs in the United States were announced on Monday and Tuesday alone — there should be comfort in the fact that one sector, health care, continues to add jobs. In December, employers added 32,000 health-related positions.

Unfortunately, one of the fastest-growing areas within the health care field — home care for the elderly — also is one of the lowest paid and most exploitable.

It is unconscionable that workers who are entrusted with the care of some of the nation’s most vulnerable citizens are themselves unprotected by basic labor standards.

Read the whole thing.