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Who is paying her? Is there a written agreement in place? What does it say hr duties are?

"Watch my mom" could include everything from simple companionship (playing cards, watching movies together, etc.) to cooking, laundry, giving showers or baths, etc. What one would be paid depends on what one is expected to do.
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You should know what condition in health your Mother is in , in order to know what exactly are your sister's duties are.How in the world would we know what exactly are her duties if you don't know?You need to give us more information so we can best help with advice for you?Your Mother can pay what ever she desires and to who she desires to pay.If your Sister has POA or Guardenship over your Mother then it should be stated in that paper work.If your Mother is not incompatent as told by a doctor and has no POA.It's her money to do what she wants.
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She is getting 600,00 from the state, but she leaves her alone all the time, I worry I go over and shes been alone for 5, 6 hours, she has Parkinson, my sister lives with her and is now getting paid,
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From your profile it appears your Mom has Parkinson's? How old is she? How far along in the disease is she? Does sister live with her? Who takes Mom to appointments dispense medications, clean the house and all the things Jeanne said. There should be a care agreement in place that documents all she does for your Mom, including hours she is to be responsible for her. The written agreement is very important in case your Mom should ever need Medicaid. Per Medicaid regs many states will permit family caregivers to be paid the same as an agency. In my area that is about $20.00 an hour including sleeping time or $480.00 a day!

Do you have a problem with sister being paid? Do you think that she has free room and board? If an agency were providing care, if a place for that person to sleep is not provided the hourly rate increases to $23.00 an hour. And if client is a night wanderer the rate again increases to $26.00 an hour.

I suspect your sister is not being paid anywhere close to what would be permitted by Medicaid regs provided there is an agreement in place. So, my suggestion is that you help to get appropriate documentation in place to protect your mother and sister and appreciate what your sister is doing for your mom.

If this sounds harsh, it is justifiably so. I have two sisters that do little to help and expect me to do this for free and I have been here three years! This has taken a tremendous financial as well as emotional toll on me!
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My mother lived with my sister and my sister got paid for taking care of her. My sister sometimes left our mom alone for short periods -- not for 5 or 6 hours at a time, because our mom could not get by alone that long.

Generally the way the duties and pay are determined is that the care receiver is evaluated and the amount/type of care needed is determined. It might be 20 hours a week of personal care attendant and 2 hours a week of housecleaning, etc.

As long as your sister fulfills the duties she is being paid for, there is no prohibition against leaving the house, and no specifications about what your sister must do with the rest of the hours in a week. For example, if the contract is for 20 hours, then a paid professional who did that job could work 4 hours a day for 5 days and leave the house at the end of the shift. Sis can do the same thing.

That is as far as the contract for paid hours goes.

But in terms of what your mother needs, it might not be enough. It could be that Mom needs to have someone on hand nearly 24 hours a day. My sister did all those extra hours simply as a loving daughter, and the siblings helped out by providing some respite for her.

Have you discussed with your sister what you each think your mother's needs are? Is it possible that your mother really can be on her own for part of the day if things are set up for her correctly? Do you think your sister's absence puts your mother at risk? What are Mom's main impairments? Does she have mobility problems? Cognitive problems? What are your main worries about her being left alone?

What do you think a good alternative would be? If your mother is in need of 24/7 monitoring, would a care center be a better option for her?

Let us say that your sister is being paid for 20 hours a week. That leaves another 148 hours to be covered each week. If Mom sleeps through the night and doesn't require active care, that leaves about 90 hours. Let us say, just for this example, that Sis is getting room and board out of the deal, and she "watches" Mom another 30 hours a week to earn that. Now there are STILL 60 hours unaccounted for.

Sister should probably just donate some of that out of the goodness of her heart and love of mother. And so should you. How many hours a week are you willing to put toward the care of your mother?

The numbers are all just guesses, but the point is, $600 a month does not cover 24/7 care. Even putting in more hours in exchange for room and board (if that is happening) doesn't cover the entire week. If Mom really does need 24/7 care you and your sister need to figure out how to provide it. And if home stays in her home, it seems to me than part of the gap should be covered by you.
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aguailar11,
If your Mother lives in your Sister's home then yes your Sister can charge your Mother rent and for other as electric ,gas,water used if desired.If your Sister lives with your Mother to care for her then again yes she can be paid for her services as long as she is not a POA.Remeber,POAs are not allowed to charge for services,barrow,transfer funds/assets or gift.Unless otherwised noted in the POA.
With not knowing your reason of question.Why do you seem to sound as if your upset from sister being paid to care for your Mother?Are you your self involved with care for your Mother as your sister is doing?If not?Maybe you need to get involved caring for your Mother too.Then,you will know first hand why she is being paid.My advice to you is,if you don't approve of the way your sister is taking care of your Mother?Then it's time you step up to the plate and attempt to do so.I like to hear how she is getting paid $600 by the state?State?I had no idea that the State pays.I know Medicare and Medicaid pays but,never heard of the State paying a dime.
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Perhaps you could help your sister with the caregiving, afterall she is your mother too.
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$600,000 ???
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No, $600,00.
Which I imagine should be a period between the third and fourth zero. I would move to that state,

In all seriousness, Agua liar, I imagine that your sister is receiving payment from either Medicaid in your state or the veterans administration under their aid and attendance program because of the very low amount your sister is being paid. Those programs are in place to help caregivers that sacrifice so much to help your Mom in this case whom really needs it. These programs would not be paying your sister if mom's needs have not been documented and ordered by the doctor.

Your Mom may need 24/7 care but the program paying your sister would be aware of that. Are there social workers involved? There must be a case manager of some sort. I am coming up with lots of questions, I know. I will admit that I do not understand why you have an issue with $600.00 payment to your sister unless she somehow is endangering your mother. If that is the case then you could call Adult Protective Services and Medicaid, or the Veterans Administration to make a report on your sister. My warning to you: is be honest with yourself and ask yourself, is this an honest concern or are you a spiteful sister not understanding the situation and trying to cause trouble for the caregiver sister?
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Period between second and third zeros
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How advanced is your mother's disease. Many people with Parkinson's do fine by themselves for a while. They just need assistance with things that have become too difficult for them to do. Your sister gets $600 a month to help with her. If she needed to stay home 24/7 for her, it would be a total of 720 hours a month. That would be 83 cents an hour. People wouldn't even consider working for that! I wondered, too, if the $600 was used to buy things for your mother's care -- e.g., help in paying utilities and food. We would have to know a lot more.

My mother has fairly advanced dementia and cannot be left alone for long. However, I know it is okay to leave 2-4 hours at a time. Something might happen when I'm gone, but I have to get out of the house. I would go batty if I sat here all day watching my mother decline.

If you are uncomfortable with your sister leaving your mother alone, perhaps you can work it out with her that you will come be with your mother when your sister goes out. It would give you a chance for a long visit with your mother and help your sister stay sane. Having time away is very important for caregivers.
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