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My father recently fell and broke his hip. My mother is 90 but mostly looking for care for my father. He is easy care. He just needs someone to assist and to help them get into bed and light meals. They would just feel better and more comfortable if someone was staying there with them as a live in. They live in Wenatchee and are wonderful people. if anyone knows a person that might be interested in this position, I can discuss the pay at that time thank you and God bless.

First, this is an anonymous global forum of mostly unpaid family caregivers, so if you need to hire care, maybe start looking on Care.com or searching "elder care agencies near me"+(your zip code).

Many on this forum are not fond of the live-in aid arrangement because you are basically assuming this person never gets days off and is "on-call" 24/7. What if something happens and you regret hiring this person? They now live in that house which is their legal residence. You may need to evict them to get them out.

Privately hiring someone makes them your actual employee, and you are therefore required to track their paychecks, do withholding, make quarterly reports, submit W2s, and offer benefits just like all other employers. Many states have specific labor rules that single out caregivers so that the state never considers them "contract" workers. You must check the laws in your home state. I you barter for service or pay them in cash, they are not contributing to their own Social Security or Medicare for their own old age. This would be extremely unwise.

Also, a live-in means no subs if they get sick or want to go on vacation. There's no accountability like to an agency if they steal. You may have to increase or provide liability insurance. Agencies do background checks and provide same-day subs whenever possible. They do all the bookwork and accounting. They carry the liability for theft, damage, injury.

With a private hire, you will need a very solid employment contract which protects both the elders and the caregiver. You cannot just exchange room & board for the caregiving services as this person will need to have some cash in order to live.

And if you think it will be inexpensive, please think again: hourly wages for this type of work can be $20 an hour and up.

Please go into a live-in arrangement with your eyes wide open. I do not recommend it.
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Reply to Geaton777
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MG8522 Nov 28, 2025
This is a good point about the tax payments. I know someone who was warned repeatedly about this but ignored the requirements, and got his by hefty back taxes, interest, and fines from the IRS.
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Paying by the hour might work, but CG might prefer to be paid by the day. You'll need subs or backups for when the live-in can't work or has to leave for personal business. This usually requires 3 caregivers, and either you assign shifts or they work it out. Neither method is easy.

I employed caregivers for my parents for 5+ years. They were wonderful, and we never had a bad one. BUT. My work didn't stop. Not only did I have to be there to help more than I would have liked, but there was a problem to be solved almost every day. The credit card CG used to charge things like meds for parents didn't work; I had to straighten it out. They couldn't leave my parents to go to grocery shop; I was responsible for getting the food and sometimes cooking it. The housekeeper got sick and didn't come to work, and the CGs didn't do heavy housework, only light housekeeping; I had to show up and deep clean the bathroom, not an easy task for an elderly sick person. And on and on, for 5+ years.

A care facility is much better and provides socialization and activities for the parent. I advise you to look into some!
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Reply to Fawnby
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You need to be very careful about just moving a random person into your parents' house. You will need to do very careful and thorough background checks. What would you need to know and verify before you would let a stranger move in with you?

Also, be realistic about what this person would be expected to do. Not just what you expect and describe, but what your parents will be expecting. Would it really just be getting ready for bed and light meals? Or would it turn into getting him up and ready in the morning, managing medications, laundry, cleaning, and errands? You would need a clear contract and realistic pay.

And is it really your parents who would "feel better and more comfortable," or are you projecting this onto them because it's what would make you feel better?

I'm not doubting your intentions and sincerity. But this board gets posts from people who take live-in jobs and end up being overworked and underpaid, and from people who hire help for their parents and the parents fire the help because they don't want anyone in their homes. As well as from the occasional person whose parents get scammed by a caregiver.

Maybe the solution is to hire someone for 4 hours in the evening to fix dinner, prepare a breakfast and lunch to leave for your parents to have on their own, and then get your dad ready for bed. Or one person to come in from breakfast to lunch, doing other needs in between, and then another for dinner through bedtime.

Just think this through carefully.
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Reply to MG8522
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You need 3 people so they can each take an 8 hour shift and no, room and board is not a replacement for an 8 hour schedule with pay.

Also once they live there 30 days in most states in the US, they establish residency and you will have to evict them if you want them gone because your parents house will become their legal residence.
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Reply to southernwave
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Your parents are 90 and 92. At present you think they need ‘easy care’. You father recently fell and broke his hip. It would probably be good to think forward about how their needs will increase. You don’t want to decide in 6 months time that another option (eg Assisted Living) would be better, particularly if the live-in carer has established rights that are difficult to change.
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Reply to MargaretMcKen
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I like MG's suggestion of staffing

8:00 am - 1:00 pm (this person makes breakfast and lunch)
4:00 pm - 8:00 pm (this person makes dinner and helps getting in bed)

Your parents would have a break in the afternoon and function on their own.

Check the IRS rules on live in compensation. You can google. There are a lot of IRS rules about this.
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Reply to brandee
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Whether care is "easy" or not, the going rate will likely be about 25.00 to 35.00 an hour. If this type of care is required then it is time to discuss in facility care with your parents.
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