I had the experience of hiring caregiver aides for my elderly aunt. To maintain her quality of life, I needed in-home elder care aides to help her 24 hours a day. So I hired two aides so each could cover a 12-hour shift.
I made sure to hire aides who helped her get around. They took her to the grocery store, the beauty parlor, museums in the city, the park on beautiful days, and to doctor appointments.
Hiring a caregiver for an elderly parent or relative involves reviewing references, drafting a healthcare contract, maintaining records, and safeguarding against dishonesty and abuse.
If you already handle your own financial affairs, you should find it easy to do that for your loved one. Or hire a CPA to handle essential items if you feel more comfortable with that.
The following items are crucial:
Before choosing an aide, it's essential to know what your loved one expects.
After you know what's needed, prepare a written agreement to clarify the work to be performed. You'll need this to show to potential aides.
It's crucial to hire the correct type of aide depending on the requirements. Here is a list of aide types:
Note that many of these tasks can be combined. In my case, the basic care aides I hired did the same jobs as a health aide. It's important to discuss their qualifications during the interview. I'll go into more detail about that in item #4 below.
Aides are expensive. You're lucky if you can work out deals for around $12 an hour. That is not live-in. They work their shift in the client's home and then leave.
Live-in aides are less costly because you give them room and board.
When interviewing an aide, discuss the following to ensure they fit your needs well:
A written agreement in a healthcare contract will clarify what you expect of the aides.
In addition to specifying the work to be performed, the contract should emphasize that the aide is an Independent Contractor. Here is what I wrote for that clause:
The Patient and the Independent Contractor agree that the Independent Contractor will perform the work as a Home Health Aide with the following Elder Care Responsibilities:
If you prefer to create a Home Healthcare Contract online, Rocket Lawyer has a free service on their website to create one. They offer free documents hoping you may need their attorney's services someday.
It's easy to use their online tool by answering a few simple questions to create a legal form. Then you can download and print it. Remember to make a copy for each aide you hire and have them sign their copy.
Some agencies don't vet their aides. They are just happy to take the money and place anyone into service. You need to be aware of that.
Do a Google search for reviews to see if anything negative shows up. Search for court judgments on the agencies and workers.
After you choose an agency and hire an aide, don't let them boss you around. The following experience of mine can happen to you.
Early one day before dawn, one of the aides called me and asked why she was being fired. I was shocked to hear that, and I said that if anyone were to fire anyone, it would be me. So I told her to come in as usual. Then I called the agency.
It turned out the agency told her not to come back. Instead, they decided to send another aide that morning.
I was furious. How can they switch people like that and expect an elderly woman to be comfortable with a total stranger once again? So I told them, "To do that is unacceptable! My aunt could have died from a heart attack!"
I discovered later that the agency wanted to fire her because they could make more money by placing her with another client. That's because the first week with a new client is paid double, one payment to the aide and another to the agency.
Sometimes things go wrong. Not all healthcare workers are trustworthy. You need to keep a constant eye on where the money is going and keep detailed records of questionable events. It's crucial to document everything that happens.
An Example of Abusive Aides:
This example will help you recognize when you need to take action. When my aunt's aides needed cash for groceries, they took her to the bank to withdraw money. I noticed over time that the requests for money were steadily increasing.
They took advantage of her by saying it was due to inflation. Elderly people are gullible and believe anything.
My aunt couldn't eat so much and use so many of the purchased items. The aides must have been taking things home. So I decided to ask them to show me the records of the items they bought.
Other types of abuse can occur, as well. For example, my aunt started complaining that one of the aides was yelling at her and losing her temper. Abuse should be dealt with quickly. I had to fire two aides.
There were several times I hit brick walls when trying to help my aunt. I once had to call her bank to discuss a credit card issue. However, they wouldn't talk to me because I didn't have a Power of Attorney (POA) on file.
Another time, I had to handle litigation after firing one of the aides who abused her. You need to consult a business attorney if you’re in this predicament.
Healthcare aides are independent contractors and cannot be fired unless they fail to meet the terms of the contract. I won that case, but that's another story.
Having a "General" POA is useless because banks don't accept it. I discovered banks usually want you to file a POA using their forms.
It's also helpful to have a standard POA to use when needed. You can find many sites with a Google search to purchase legal forms and download standard power of attorney forms.
1. Include Litigation Rights on the POA Form:
The standard POA form has check-off options that show which permissions you have assigned.
Make sure you include litigation rights. You never know when you might need that. It was required when I needed to defend my aunt in court for that lawsuit I mentioned earlier.
Once you fill out the form, you need to get it notarized. I took my aunt to the bank in a wheelchair to get it notarized.
2. Power of Attorney Expires Upon Death:
A Power of Attorney is only valid while the person is alive. It becomes null and void upon death. If you were expected to handle the estate, then you would have to be assigned as executor in the will. That needs to be done well in advance.
Taking care of an elderly loved one can be the most challenging time for both of you. With all the legal issues that can arise, speak with an attorney to be sure you cover all the bases.
When you handle everything correctly, things will go smoothly and ensure your aging family member is comfortable and happy. And with less stress on you.
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