When my dad was diagnosed with inoperable cancer, I moved back in with him and my mother that day (10/2) and after his death and placement for my mother in a nursing home, I was able to return home on December 11. He insisted I be paid market rate for my time and caregiving of both of them. I wasn't happy about it, because I would have happily done it for free. I also didn't like the idea of writing out a check to myself in my role as POA and Trustee. Nonetheless, he insisted, and his attorney agreed.
Market rate would have been $25/hour, and I didn't feel comfortable with that, so I went with $20. I ended up being paid $30,000, so as you can imagine, you're being extremely underpaid.
call a home care agency in your town and visit them. Find out if they can provide the care and hours you are currently providing. Have them give you the weekly or monthly cost quote in writing. As an aside, check if his medicare/medicaid/VA or other insurance will cover. Use this info to determine how to proceed.
As a POA, you are entitled to nothing, your duty is to the principal (your father).
So, if your POA does not forbid payment, a fiduciary can get paid "reasonable compensation." In Michigan it is 1 to 1.5% of the total assets managed over the course of a year. Then, there are reimbursable expenses, such as mileage you should keep a log of and write a check for those expenses monthly. Check your state laws for specifics.
Any payment for caregiving specifically or rent needs to go thru a lawyer. Some states prohibit this unless it was in the original POA paperwork. As POA, you cannot enter into a legal agreement with yourself and a court may have to determine adequate payment for these activities.
People really should read a poster's profile before answering. Poster offered valuable information on her profile: "I am caring for my father Jim, who is 88 years old, living in my home with age-related decline, anxiety, depression, incontinence, and mobility problems." 1. She's probably driving him places - i.e. deserves reimbursement for mileage. 2. She's probably doing his laundry - i.e. deserves reimbursement at a wash and fold rate which is around $0.99 per pound.
If anything, poster deserves more than $300 per month. Her brother sounds like he's more interested in protecting his "inheritance" than helping his father. $300 is completely defensible even with Medicaid.
I likely misunderstood your question. If Dad is living with you and you are caring for him I think 300.00 is too little. If you are charging 300 to manage your Dad's money only, and it is simply done, then I think it is too much. The real point here is that you need to see an attorney and work out a care plan. You cannot do this without contract and keeping track and it could be considered "gifting" and ruin your Dad's future chances of getting medicaid if he needs it. If Dad is living with you and you are POA your bro has no business knowing any of this, but you must keep careful records in case he accuses you of anything. See an attorney. Where legalities are concerned you don't want to take the advice of a forum. Your father's funds pay the cost of said attorney as this involves his estate and cost.
You wrote on your profile: "I am caring for my father Jim, who is 88 years old, living in my home with age-related decline, anxiety, depression, incontinence, and mobility problems."
Your father is living in your home. $300 is a bargain by any extent of the imagination. You owe your brother no explanation! It is not his business because your father chose *you* and not your brother to be his POA.
You do NOT need to claim the $300 on your taxes as it is not income but rather the cost of your dad's food. The average cost of food for a single person is up to $300 and if your dad has special dietary needs, that could be even more. As your father's needs increase, what he pays you for his room and board can increase. Furthermore, you may be able to claim your father as a dependent on your income taxes. Keep a spreadsheet and talk to your accountant.
But food and POA costs can't be lumped together. I didn't know Dad lived there. If so then there needs to be a carefully done and LEGAL care plan so that the son is not accused by the other son, or by the system of "gifts" and the Dad, who may need medicaid in future, of "gifting". 300.00 is way to much to charge to be POA, but if Dad is living there, too little for being POA and buying food, changing housing so it works for Dad, and so on.
When you say "as POA I am entitled" do you mean that the POA documentation states that you are (or any other primary caregiver is) to be paid?
Because unless it says that, you are most emphatically NOT entitled. Could you clarify this, please?
PS - I ought to add, with just as much emphasis, that this does not include expense you pay out as your father's POA or as his caregiver. If looking after him or working on his behalf *costs* you anything, you can claim that back. Perfectly legitimate.
You know I had to double check this and in my Canadian province a POA is entitled to "3% of the monies received and disbursed by the grantor, and a management fee of 3/5ths of 1% of the average annual value of the grantor’s assets". But of course different jurisdictions have different rules.
It needs to be put in the POA that you get paid and how much. If Dad has been declared incompetent, if this was not done when the POA was written, you can't get payment now.
If Dad is competent and he agrees to payment, visit the lawyer who wrote the POA and have that provision added making sure you have agreed on an amount. A lawyer should be able to guide you on how much you are allowed to get. I would think the amount would have to do with how large the estate is.
Now you have covered ur bases legally. So when Dad passes, your brother can't contest your expenditures. He will be able to ask for an accounting. Don't you love they don't want to do any of the work but they are right there wanting their share when the time comes.
I was POA for my brother as well as Trustee of his trust. It was a lot of work in the first year what with organizing all bills to come to me, doing banking work to add myself to accounts as POA, sending copies of Trust and my papers to all entities, arranging to pay all bills and getting accounting books together. I did this work out of love and care and did not take a penny in payment. Whatever you take you should attend a lawyer now, and you should get the plan of care WRITTEN. You will be claiming this payment on your taxes, whatever it is. A licensed Fiduciary gets paid approximately 90.00 an hour. Once the billing and paying and record keeping is set up, and learning how to do all this, it should not take three hours a month in my opinion, especially with automatic payments and withdrawals set up for your Dad's care. So I think your fees are, in my opinion quite high. I am assuming he doesn't have a huge estate with rental properties and etc. I am assuming you are good at your job and understand your record keeping must be meticulous. Because if your bro takes you to court you will need to prove to the court you have consistently acted in your Dad's best interest and you have kept spotless records of all money in and all money out. Otherwise you will be accused of embezzling and fraud as well as elder abuse. You already know your brother is unhappy so you are forewarned. I knew nothing when I took on POA and Trustee of Trust. I felt I owed this to my brother. I had a difficult and steep learning curve but I pat myself on back I did a meticulous and good job. My brother died almost exactly a year ago and I took on Trustee of then irrevocable Trust/Executor of Estate duties. What I learned in all was a lot. Discuss with an Elder Law attorney who draws up paper for you of duties and your costs what he feels, given the size of the Estate you manage for your Dad, is a fair conpensation. You will be paying him about 350.00 for his advice and that is a cost to the estate you will record with all other costs.
Make a spread sheet listing all that you do and the time it takes you to do it, then call around and find out how much your father would be paying a management company, geriatric care manager or professional fiduciary to take care of those things. If you are doing any kind of caregiving put that on a separate spread sheet because hands on care is not part of being a POA. Send it to your brother. Or.... you could just tell him where to go 😉
Since the burden of care is going to increase as your father ages and that care is inevitably going to fall on you now is the time to set up a formal, legal care document WITH your father and an attorney. Be sure he has an updated will and an advance directive too.
FLTN, if your Dad had professional caregivers around the clock, it would be costing him between $10k and $25k per month, yes per month..... so $300 a month is more than fair if you feel that is what you are comfortable with. As Dad needs more care, you may want to think about an increase in pay, or use the money to hire a part-time caregiver, so you won't become burnt-out.
If you plan on being paid, you would need to have a Contract with your Dad, saying that he will be paying you $300 a month. Otherwise, if later down the road Dad needs help via Medicaid [which is different from Medicare] Medicaid won't see the $300 as a "gift" to you.
Curious what your brother is doing to help Dad. This shouldn't be all falling on your shoulders just because you have Power of Attorney.
Market rate would have been $25/hour, and I didn't feel comfortable with that, so I went with $20. I ended up being paid $30,000, so as you can imagine, you're being extremely underpaid.
Your brother needs to zip his lip.
So, if your POA does not forbid payment, a fiduciary can get paid "reasonable compensation." In Michigan it is 1 to 1.5% of the total assets managed over the course of a year. Then, there are reimbursable expenses, such as mileage you should keep a log of and write a check for those expenses monthly. Check your state laws for specifics.
Any payment for caregiving specifically or rent needs to go thru a lawyer. Some states prohibit this unless it was in the original POA paperwork. As POA, you cannot enter into a legal agreement with yourself and a court may have to determine adequate payment for these activities.
1. She's probably driving him places - i.e. deserves reimbursement for mileage.
2. She's probably doing his laundry - i.e. deserves reimbursement at a wash and fold rate which is around $0.99 per pound.
If anything, poster deserves more than $300 per month. Her brother sounds like he's more interested in protecting his "inheritance" than helping his father. $300 is completely defensible even with Medicaid.
The real point here is that you need to see an attorney and work out a care plan. You cannot do this without contract and keeping track and it could be considered "gifting" and ruin your Dad's future chances of getting medicaid if he needs it.
If Dad is living with you and you are POA your bro has no business knowing any of this, but you must keep careful records in case he accuses you of anything.
See an attorney. Where legalities are concerned you don't want to take the advice of a forum. Your father's funds pay the cost of said attorney as this involves his estate and cost.
Your father is living in your home. $300 is a bargain by any extent of the imagination. You owe your brother no explanation! It is not his business because your father chose *you* and not your brother to be his POA.
You do NOT need to claim the $300 on your taxes as it is not income but rather the cost of your dad's food. The average cost of food for a single person is up to $300 and if your dad has special dietary needs, that could be even more. As your father's needs increase, what he pays you for his room and board can increase. Furthermore, you may be able to claim your father as a dependent on your income taxes. Keep a spreadsheet and talk to your accountant.
"gifts" and the Dad, who may need medicaid in future, of "gifting". 300.00 is way to much to charge to be POA, but if Dad is living there, too little for being POA and buying food, changing housing so it works for Dad, and so on.
Because unless it says that, you are most emphatically NOT entitled. Could you clarify this, please?
PS -
I ought to add, with just as much emphasis, that this does not include expense you pay out as your father's POA or as his caregiver. If looking after him or working on his behalf *costs* you anything, you can claim that back. Perfectly legitimate.
If Dad is competent and he agrees to payment, visit the lawyer who wrote the POA and have that provision added making sure you have agreed on an amount. A lawyer should be able to guide you on how much you are allowed to get. I would think the amount would have to do with how large the estate is.
Now you have covered ur bases legally. So when Dad passes, your brother can't contest your expenditures. He will be able to ask for an accounting. Don't you love they don't want to do any of the work but they are right there wanting their share when the time comes.
Whatever you take you should attend a lawyer now, and you should get the plan of care WRITTEN. You will be claiming this payment on your taxes, whatever it is. A licensed Fiduciary gets paid approximately 90.00 an hour. Once the billing and paying and record keeping is set up, and learning how to do all this, it should not take three hours a month in my opinion, especially with automatic payments and withdrawals set up for your Dad's care. So I think your fees are, in my opinion quite high. I am assuming he doesn't have a huge estate with rental properties and etc.
I am assuming you are good at your job and understand your record keeping must be meticulous. Because if your bro takes you to court you will need to prove to the court you have consistently acted in your Dad's best interest and you have kept spotless records of all money in and all money out. Otherwise you will be accused of embezzling and fraud as well as elder abuse. You already know your brother is unhappy so you are forewarned.
I knew nothing when I took on POA and Trustee of Trust. I felt I owed this to my brother. I had a difficult and steep learning curve but I pat myself on back I did a meticulous and good job. My brother died almost exactly a year ago and I took on Trustee of then irrevocable Trust/Executor of Estate duties. What I learned in all was a lot.
Discuss with an Elder Law attorney who draws up paper for you of duties and your costs what he feels, given the size of the Estate you manage for your Dad, is a fair conpensation. You will be paying him about 350.00 for his advice and that is a cost to the estate you will record with all other costs.
Or.... you could just tell him where to go 😉
Since the burden of care is going to increase as your father ages and that care is inevitably going to fall on you now is the time to set up a formal, legal care document WITH your father and an attorney. Be sure he has an updated will and an advance directive too.
If you plan on being paid, you would need to have a Contract with your Dad, saying that he will be paying you $300 a month. Otherwise, if later down the road Dad needs help via Medicaid [which is different from Medicare] Medicaid won't see the $300 as a "gift" to you.
Curious what your brother is doing to help Dad. This shouldn't be all falling on your shoulders just because you have Power of Attorney.