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My mother is a guardian for her brother with Alz. He needs 24/7 care so she stays with him. She pays for 10 hours per week of home care. Can she pay herself from his funds for her time/service? I would think $300 per month would be modest and justifiable.

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Unless someone has done fulltime caregiving in your home 24/7 which puts your life on hold and is harder than any job out there, no one can judge us. Before I can even shower I hoyer my Mom up and into her wheelchair and lift her onto the toilet to bathe her, make her bowels move, etc etc and dress her. I then make and feed her a 2 hour meal and drink and give meds. It starts all over again in a few hours. Unless you pay for a high heating bill, food, diapers, bed pads, clothing, special foods that you prepare and puree, order medication, and deal with wet and fece diapers daily, please don't judge us. And the last thing I have to say is that if our parent or loved one should pass to Heaven, the silbings that have done nothing, come running with their hands open for money. We are not taking our parents money, we are taking our siblings inheritence that they do not deserve if they wont help. All the money I received has gone back to my Moms supplies and needs because she has outlived her money by 3 years now. I now do it free, do I care? Absolutely Not, I never wanted it in the first place . What I did want was help, but the siblings were too "busy." So I got help with our heating and food bills, etc and at the time it sure helped. Anyone doing this type of care, especially with dementia and incontinence deserves help, and/or compensation. I will continue to pay for her needs until she passes but at least I know she gets one on one fantastic loving care right here in my home which is priceless. No one should feel guilty receiving compensation unless they are taking it and they dont do 100% of the care, such as a nursing home or assisted living, thats just not right, but when its your life, its different and well deserved. Hugs to all of you at-home caregivers.
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janiet1--I believe we need to take certain things into account. For example, I'm considering quitting my job to take care of my parents full time, but I'm going to need some money for healthcare insurance (which will total less in a year than my mother is currently paying each month in a nursing home!) and some other basic expenses. Yes, we appreciate what our parents did to rear us, but the reality is that modern life in America is expensive (even without any "frills"). I don't believe it is being "ungrateful" to recognize that one needs money on which to live when caregiving effectively becomes one's job.
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Please, lets keep this site informational and supportive. I think we live with enough of our own guilt as caregivers (should I, could I, did I, etc) that we want to stay clear of judging each others questions. Wether we pay ourselves or not is not to be judged. Information and empathy only, please. Extragarlic (I love your name) I pay myself a small amount from mom's money as I am on her checking account. This is not only with my brother's blessings, but mom would want me to compensate myself. When she was more sane she would buy me gas, lunch, etc. You could help your mom feel more comfortable paying herself based on the money he has but also by balancing it with the amount she pays for the outside care then subtracting some for love. After reading Rita2013's answer, I googled, "Caregiver financial assistance". some good sites came up that might help. God Bless you and your mom in your love and care of her brother.
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Thank you. My mother is happy to devote her remaining years to her brother for free, even though he was never kind to her. However, the other 2 brothers have not seen my uncle since my grandmother died in 1997. All the burden is on my mother, why is she not entitled to a meager $300 a month for taking care of my uncle? My mother is struggling financially, my uncle is not.
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I'm not sure where you live, but in my state because of how advanced my MIL's disease is, I get paid 19 hours through her insurance to take care of her every day. My MIL is on medicaid, medicare, and also United Health Duel Complete. If you haven't already, I would check into it there. I believe the actual pay I receive goes through United Health Duel Complete, but they also will contract you for care through a local caregiving agency in your area. Perhaps, you could look it up online. I know they have a website and will give information specifically for your state there. I'd give you the web address, but I know certain info. on her isn't allowed to be posted. I hope you are able to get more pay. I know how tough it can be, especially when you have to give up your regular job to stay home to take care of someone. Best wishes to you.
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From Florida - also check into programs in your area such as caregiver assistance (stipend), financial help to the caregiver, financial help while taking care of the disabled...an organization who may pay stipends to assist you while taking care of a family member...don't give up, help is on the way! Be blessed...if you want...email me and I will help you look for any services in your area that may be able to help with this.
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If her brother is on Medicaid she may be able to get payments from the government for her caregiving.

As far as his funds, does she have a power of attorney? If she does then she has the power to handle his finances.
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Just to say I am in complete understanding that compensation for taking care of your mother is truly justified - I hope you can find a way. As others have said, just because our parents took care of us when we were growing up - are two different things entirely. I went into debt taking care of 3 family members - you shouldn't have to do this. There are many expenses while taking care of our elders. Good luck to you and hope things work out - you deserve it! Hugs and take care.
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Does she get income like ss or pension? She can get paid up to $1,000 per week from her Moms money. $300 a month might pay the electric bill, thats crazy low. Good Luck, talk to an attorney asap but remember she has to pay taxes on it which is about 30%.
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I also wanted to ad that I get an hourly rate based off of the caregiving agency we go through for pay, so that may differ for you too. Also, it doesn't matter if your mom's brother isn't as advanced into the late stages of the disease. She can still get paid according to his needs. A case worker from United Health will come out to do an assessment on him to see what care he needs from your mom.
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