Living Well 60+ November – December 2014

y Martha Evans Sparks,
Staff Writer
As we age, it is all but inevitable
we will eventually need help with
daily tasks of living. We may even
need to hire a caregiver to assist us.
Lexington lawyer Carolyn L. Kenton,
who specializes in elder law,
believes a formal, legal caregiver
agreement is a good idea for almost
everybody, whether you are alone
or have numerous family members
willing to help you when you can
no longer care for yourself.
You might already have a will and
a power of attorney giving a trusted
person power to act for you if you
become incapacitated. You might
have a living will outlining the kind
of end-of-life care you prefer. So
why do you need another piece of
paper? What is a caregiver agreement?
A caregiver agreement is in effect
a contract. It sets forth definite duties
for a named caregiver, including
things such as arranging doctor
appointments and taking the care
receiver to them; paying bills; and
managing the checkbook. In case
the care receiver must be admitted
to a nursing home, the caregiver
might make frequent – often daily –
visits to be sure there are no signs of
abuse and the care receiver’s clothes
and laundry are properly cared for.
The caregiver agreement spells out
specifically how much the caregiver
will be paid for performing each
service.
Kenton, whose law firm is Bluegrass
Elderlaw, says as the population
ages, lawyers are drawing up
more and more of these documents.
A formal caregiver agreement
between an elderly disabled
patient and a child, a grandchild,
other relative or a trusted friend if
the elderly person has no family
not only assures the elderly person
of needed personal care. Such a
NOV/DEC 2 0 1 4
Do You Need a Caregiver
Agreement?
Planning ahead can make health-care
decisions easier
document is most necessary if the
care receiver should outlive his or
her money and find it necessary to
apply to Medicaid for support. Under
current law, Medicaid requires
family members to return money
Lexington lawyer Carolyn L. Kenton
informally paid to them and use the
money to pay a nursing home. Only
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cern now
YEAR
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Grandma has one foot in the nursing
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when that money is gone will Medicaid
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summarizes the reason caregiver
dollar and twenty cents.
length employment agreement
prepared by a lawyer (sometimes
called a personal-care contract),
you have a much better chance the
And Kenton said.
The Lafayette
opened
its doors.
law will allow it. To help you deal
with Medicaid, the contract must
spell out services very carefully.
“If you wash Mom’s clothes, you
have to assign a value to that in
order for you to [have] a contract
that holds up with Medicaid.
They want to be sure they protect
the public purse. They do that by
letting it be known that they are
not particularly generous,” said
Kenton.
The pay rate should be in line
with pay rates in your area. Medicaid
officials do not look kindly
on using a caregiver agreement as
a way to transfer a large amount of
money to another person in an attempt
to lower the size of an estate.
A formal caregiver agreement
might minimize family fights. If
the care receiver informally pays
a family caregiver for his or her
time, other family members may
object. Siblings may demand their
parents leave all the children equal
shares of any inheritance. A legal
agreement compensating a family
member for hours of unpaid work
may help other family members
realize caregiving is real work. It’s
not just visiting Grandma for a
few minutes now and then at your
convenience.
Pet
However, Kenton Pet
Friendly says, the
Friendly
overriding necessity of a formal
caregiver agreement is that it
provides documentation for future
applications with Medicaid. She
says the most important thing is to
seek the advice of people who are
knowledgeable. “The earlier you
seek professional advice about the
rules and regulations that control
nursing homes and financial needs
of end of life, the better off you are,”
she said. “Medicaid is not going
to give people advice on how to
arrange their needs. If [someone]
wants to wisely organize the family
finances, they ought to talk to a
knowledgeable professional.”
This is not necessarily the
accountant or the lawyer. The con-
children, there is no inheritance
tax, no matter the size of the estate,
Kenton says just because you do
not have $5 million does not mean
you should not plan. “The need [is]
knowledge, information,” she said.
“Most people don’t think of it until
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“The Golden Girls” were fast “The becoming Golden friends Girls” were on their fast first becoming season on friends TV. on their first season on TV.
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agreements are a good idea: “Prior
proper planning prevents poor
performance.”
Kenton is available to speak to
your club or other group about
these issues. She may be reached
at her office, 120 North Mill St,
Lexington, KY 40507 or call her at
(859) 281-0048.
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