Mom lives with me and my husband and wants to pay me $10,000 a month. She is a multi millionaire and can afford it. Currently she pays me $7,000 and wants to increase it. I think it is too much. How do I know what is fair? I don’t want my sister, who lives out of state and cares for my other sister who lives in a nursing home, or my nieces who live out of state and visit occasionally for vacation, to think I’m taking advantage or cohersed her into more money.
8 Answers
Helpful Newest
First Oldest
First
Your mom offered the additional money to show her appreciation to you. Obviously, she wants you to have this money. You shouldn’t feel guilty about it. You haven’t asked for anything extra from her.
As far as your siblings are concerned. I bet that your mom hasn’t forgotten about them either. She sounds like a very generous person.
Count your blessings. I am sure that you are grateful for having such a lovely mother.
ADVERTISEMENT
Hopefully your Mom has her funds in stock that is giving her a healthy dividend, thus funds that are used are being replaced by gains in the stock.
If your Mom is, let's say only in her 70's, then those funds need to grow for many more years. Hopefully she can live another 25-30 years. If your Mom is currently closer to 90 years old, then those funds should cover everything. As others had mention, draw up an Employment Contract.
Important, later down the road caregiving becomes more difficult as you are aging yourself. There will come a time when no amount of funds will make up the physical and emotional exhaustion. Outside help should be considered, or an Independent Living or Assisted Living. My Dad loved both when the time came :)
Care contract drawn up by an attorney.
This needs to be legal because there are tax repercussions for your mother as the giver of the gift.
If she's a multimillionaire then she is self insured for her care, and need not worry about qualification for governmental care in future.
An attorney will draw up any gifting/shared expenses contract, or anything else that your mother wishes after examination of her for mental competency.
There is utterly NO REASON to mention this to any other family anywhere.
Were you to wish, with this enormous inflo of money to help your sister, then you might consider offering her the amount you can gift yourself tax free which would be 17,000 to any individual. Say a total of 34,000 to her and husband that they can put toward care of another sister. This would be very generous of you to do. IF that sister comes to you asking where, what, how you got this money you simply say that you and husband don't discuss finances that are private to your family.
THEN...
Get a "Caregiver Contract" done.
In the contract spell out what you are doing for her and determine an hourly wage. For example $30.00 per hour for an 8 hour day.
You should pay taxes on that amount.
If you are asking about "Gifting" a certain amount wait for one of the responses that I am sure will get into the "Gifting" in's and out's.