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Sadly, we recently lost both elderly parents. I gave up my career 4 years ago to relocate to Florida and become their 24/7 live-in caregiver. I bore the cost of moving expenses, car transport, and 4-years of storage unit rental fees. I lost my healthcare insurance and put 45K miles on my own car taking them to medical appointments. Their need for round-the-clock care made it impossible for me to work outside the home. I received NO COMPENSATION for 24/7 services with no days off. Mom said they didn’t have the resources to pay me. I didn’t mind as it was my honor to help. My three siblings live out of state, visited rarely (or not at all), and did nothing to help. I bear no resentment toward them; we are not a close family but do remain cordial.


I'm now the estate Executor/Trustee and was shocked to discover the actual worth of the estate. My parents could easily have paid for caregiver services, afforded a long-term stay in a nursing home, or hired someone to come in to give me a break periodically. Yet they stated they had no resources to do so.


The estate is to be divided equally between four siblings – each of whom benefits significantly because I did not receive Caregiver compensation or reimbursements for out-of-pocket costs. The final payout to beneficiaries has not yet occurred.


In the state of Florida, can I legally (1) Bill the estate for Caregiver Services rendered? (2) Recoup fees for four years of storage unit rental fees, (3) Collect compensation for Executor Fees? How and where do I find the resources to determine the value of services rendered? The estate attorney represents me as the Trustee but not an individual beneficiary. Do I need outside counsel as a beneficiary?

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Now you can easily afford a lawyer to help and advise on this estate for information on your own state. And that is what you need to do. See a Trust and Estate attorney. You can easily be paid for your duties as executor. When you see the attorney draw up your fee schedule and papers for that, and keep, of course, good records. As to being paid in retrospect, I doubt that is possible. We get that question a LOT and so far the answer has been NO, but you sure can pass that by the attorney as well. I am sorry for your loss, and I wish you good luck with managing the estate. Remember, the estate pays for your attorney help and it is SUCH A HELP in every way. Especially in getting those pesky EINs from IRS the easy way.
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Executors get a % of the Estate before the estate is split. In my State its like 4% up to maybe 200k. Then as the estates worth goes up, the % goes down to 2%.

To get reimbursed as a Caregiver you should have had it in writing. The storage fees you maybe able to get reimbursed for. I agree with Alva, consult with a lawyer. You may need him/her anyway to help you thru probate.

I guess one thing new caregivers should do is check out the parents finances before agreeing to give up everything. Be glad it was only 4 years. I know, it was h _ _ l and you were lied to but some have put even more years in than that. Time to get the estate in order. Then go on with ur life.
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If it turns out you cannot recoup past expenses, I would still try to make the case to your individual siblings for kicking in to cover what you lost. Especially if you still have receipts and can put it together for them is a detailed way.
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Thanks for replying.

In retrospect, I should have met with Mom and her attorney to draw up a Personal Care Agreement (sometimes called a family care contract) that spells out the duties that will be performed and the compensation to be paid.

My loss may help someone else. Check out this article: https://caregiver.com/articles/right-to-compensation/
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