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She is not on medicaid and I'm not sure if she will have to go on medicaid.

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naheaton you are exactly right the money is the root of of all evil i know cause what i went thru i wouldnt wish it on no one but i came out ok with it..so yes make sure its ok with any relatives cause they can stabb you in the back and you wouldnt know what hit you
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tremaliz, before I took one dime from your aunt, I'd make sure the rest of the family is okay with it. As soon as money is brought up in many families, look out! There's a reason the Bible says the 'the root of all evil is the LOVE of money'.
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I am glad you have a contract, luvmom. You are a smart lady. No one can come crawling out of the woodwork later and claim you did something illegal. Good for you.
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I have a caregivers contract so I am allowed $15 for 8 hours a day. I pay approx 30% of taxes on it and keep records for everything. My Mom cant be alone. Been to the lawyers, all is legal. I would do this to be safe because people climb out of the woodwork when money is involved. Good luck.
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I hope, PaulAnthony51, that you are the only one who will be inheriting anything from your aunt after she dies. If there are other inheritors I hope you are keeping meticulous records of how you are using some of your aunt's funds. What you are doing sounds like it could possibly land you into a lot of legal trouble. Will you be able to show satisfactorily that the money was used to look after your aunt instead of you? I would think you should have a contract drawn up that would outline what your pay is for looking after your aunt. You would have to declare such pay as income I presume.
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no you should have no guuilt about this at all. It took me a long time to get over the guilt myself. Being unemplyed and having to take care of her I had no choice but to use some of her funds such as SS and an annuity to care for her in her own home. I love with her so I am basically a full time care giver.
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WHATEVER YOU DO GET EVERYTHING IN WRITNG AND WITNESSED
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Hi Roswitha,

Even if it's a gift for helping her, all of the information that was listed above is still applicable when it comes to legalities, taxes and future Medicaid qualification. You must be very careful when accepting gifts, especially when you are the Power of Attorney.

Best wishes,

Shelley
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no its a gift for helping her.
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Just one other thing to consider regarding the "gifting" process and Medicaid qualification: Medicaid has become very picky about "gifting" and will now "look back" 5 years and more when making a decision about Medicaid qualification. If it had not been customary for your aunt to give this type of gift, then the amount given will count against her qualification.
As a power of attorney, it's good to document expenses (mileage, time spent at appointments, doing errands, paying bills, etc.), even if you are not receiving monies for your role. You never know if such information will be needed at a later date.
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Yes, great guideline, cabernethy.

I'll add one more concept to pursue. Whenever there is ANY exchange of value for anything, ALWAYS completely document every aspect of such. Sadly, it is not at all uncommon, though always shocking, the attitudinal changes of heir's apparent that come about upon the death of a person. Even in cases when the heirs, by their actions, have proven to do little to nothing to assist the one in need when they sometimes only needed a consistent, kind word.

Think wisely,

V
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You are combining two actions that are not necessarily related:
1) your salary and expenses as your Aunt's POA
2) your Aunt's desire to gift you some money.
Everything cabernethy says about item #1 is correct and you should seek advice from a Tax Account before you take any such action.
However, your Aunt's desire to "gift" you any sum up to the current ceiling set by Congress and subject to audit by the IRS is exempt from taxes (they were already paid by your Aunt) and should not figure into qualification for Medicaid if your Aunt is paying for the Nursing Home from her own resources (insurance, savings etc) vs government assistance.
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What a helpful answer you gave, cabernethy. It should help many POA's.
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In Pennsylvania, an agent under a Power of Attorney is only permitted to be paid for rendering actual services. Our document often forbids the agent from making gifts of any sort, so get your attorney's opinion before paying any money to yourself.
Often our Courts will look at the amount of time an agent puts in per month, and will assign an hourly value ($15,$25,$50) to that time. If the time being spent is for routine things such as paying bills, driving the person back and forth to doctors, or just keeping the person company, that time is less valuable than time spent making investment decisions or selling a home.
Taking a flat amount such as $3,000 might look like a gift of some sort, when it really should represent the value of the time being expended.
Also, if you pay yourself a monthly stipend, it is taxable income to you and if you receive over $600 per year, your principal will have to provide you with a Form 1099. See or call your accountant before starting to receive payment, as it may cause you some unexpected income tax consequences.
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