Msletty, the vast majority of grown children who are caregivers to their parent do not get paid...... not unless the parent can pay the grown child from their own retirement fund.
Another option is to see if your Dad can be accepted by Medicaid [which is different from Medicare] as all the State do have some type of payment plan. Unfortunately, it won't pay like you would get if you were working outside of the home. Medicaid is taxpayer funded and each State only has so much in funds to work with.
If your Dad was in the U.S. military, check with the VA to see what programs are available.
The most common question in the AgingCare Caregiver Forum is “How can I get paid to care for a family member?”
The vast majority of family caregivers do not get paid for the provision of care. However, a loved one may use out-of-pocket retirement savings for this purpose. If a family member has enough funds to privately pay from savings, it is important to formally complete a Personal Care Agreement. Prior to receiving any payment, this document should be prepared to outline the services provided as well as the payment to be received. A personal care agreement cannot be created retroactively to pay for past care.
The Caregiver Forum is a great place to come for answers. Additionally, I’d like to offer the following AgingCare articles as reference points:
To understand the purpose of and create a formal agreement between family members, please refer to:
It is important to note that most outside sources of pay will only pay for medically based home health care provided by an authorized agency. For a general overview regarding paying for care, please refer to:
And finally, if you would like further information regarding the decision to hire a home care company that fits your needs and your budget, please refer to:
There is a program with Medicare and the VA that is available for caregivers to receive compensation for caring for a family member. The family member needs to ask for evaluation and get recommendations from their doctor stating they need the care. The compensation is based on the level of care and is paid by Medicare or VA. The agencies prefer to pay family caregivers because it is cheaper and less stressful for the family members. Starting in 2014, this compensation became non-taxable on the caregiver's return (if care is for family member). It has to be entered onto tax return, but then it is deducted with Notice 2014-7 entered as the reason for deduction.
Just a cautionary word to add to all the EXCELLENT advice you already have. We on forum see, more than almost any other post, people who come to the home of an Elder to care for them, move themselves in, and care for them for little or for minimal wages for some years, then end up homeless and jobless without a very good job resume history. It isn't a prediction, just a word of caution, as we all wish you the best of luck.
Is your dad a Veteran? If so the VA might be able to help. And depending on where and when he served the help could be a little to a LOT. And they have recently started including some Viet Nam Veterans that were exposed to chemicals but were not in Viet Nam. So this would include a LOT more Veterans than they previously included.
Another option is to see if your Dad can be accepted by Medicaid [which is different from Medicare] as all the State do have some type of payment plan. Unfortunately, it won't pay like you would get if you were working outside of the home. Medicaid is taxpayer funded and each State only has so much in funds to work with.
If your Dad was in the U.S. military, check with the VA to see what programs are available.
The most common question in the AgingCare Caregiver Forum is “How can I get paid to care for a family member?”
The vast majority of family caregivers do not get paid for the provision of care. However, a loved one may use out-of-pocket retirement savings for this purpose. If a family member has enough funds to privately pay from savings, it is important to formally complete a Personal Care Agreement. Prior to receiving any payment, this document should be prepared to outline the services provided as well as the payment to be received. A personal care agreement cannot be created retroactively to pay for past care.
The Caregiver Forum is a great place to come for answers. Additionally, I’d like to offer the following AgingCare articles as reference points:
To understand the purpose of and create a formal agreement between family members, please refer to:
https://www.agingcare.com/Articles/personal-care-agreements-compensate-family-caregivers-181562.htm
It is important to note that most outside sources of pay will only pay for medically based home health care provided by an authorized agency. For a general overview regarding paying for care, please refer to:
https://www.agingcare.com/Articles/paying-for-home-care-155405.htm
And finally, if you would like further information regarding the decision to hire a home care company that fits your needs and your budget, please refer to:
https://www.agingcare.com/Articles/how-to-select-a-home-care-company-230598.htm
Starting in 2014, this compensation became non-taxable on the caregiver's return (if care is for family member). It has to be entered onto tax return, but then it is deducted with Notice 2014-7 entered as the reason for deduction.