I'm hiring a caregiver for my mom that is a friend of a friend. Do I need anything in regards to signed paperwork?

While the "friend of the friend" may be a wonderful person, you do not know her. Interview her first and foremost. Then insurance, contract, et al if you do decide to hire her.

I wrote earlier about getting the insurance. I forgot to mention that I believe insuring the home aide, who was not from an agency, was required by the laws of the State of New York, where my Dad lived.

Here's what I have found out. Homeowners insurance will cover liability insurance as long as they don't work more than 20hrs a week. If more, then you have to get additional coverage. If they are paid more than 2,000 a year, you have to pay employer taxes and have taxes deducted from their salary. There's a company called HomePay that works with caregivers, it's like $225 a quarter fee + your employer taxes. They do all the tax paperwork. Also, make sure you get caregiver to sign agreement that they will not accept money or gifts from her unless it has been run by you or someone else. Definitely do a complete background check.

The only thing you need to watch out for is if your mom will ever need Medicaid. If she may need Medicaid down the road you will want to make sure you do a "caregiver contract" with this caregiver. This will be important to have if you ever need to do a Medicaid application.

All of the answers under make sense. I wrote about this extensively in my book. However, think about having someone you don't know much about inside a family home where they have access to everything. You can do a background check online for a few dollars just the be sure. Insurance is a must, if they injure themselves it can lead to financial ruin. If paying them directly you may have an obligation for income tax and social security - beware. And what happens if they can't make it because of (their) family issues, their health, snow storms, etc? Talk with an elder care attorney.

Another must. A caregiver agreement. See an elder law attorney to ensure you are doing all that is r required in your state. Mom may become the employer and responsible for payroll deductions, etc.

If mom ever needs Medicaid, payment to this caregiver could be considered a gift without the proper documents in place. Without the documents, mom would be penalized an amount equal to the "under the t able" amount paid to caregiver.

To protect yourself, you should insure the aide. I did this with an aide who looked after my Dad. I never had to use it, but I had peace of mind. It was not expensive; however, that is going back some years and I don’t know what it would cost now. Whatever it is, it cannot be near as much as it would cost you if the aide got injured while caring for your Mom.

You should write up responsibilities and expectations. But what is really important is your tone when you have the discussion about these responsibilities and expectations. This person is working for you, not your mother, you need to make that clear.

Paperwork if you are going to claim her on your taxes. But if you would like to give her an impression of the seriousness of how and what you expect of her duties yes I suggest paperwork. Even if she's an angel. Go online. You may find great resources.

I think hiring people off the street carries risk because you are letting a total stranger into your home and your loved one is totally vulnerable. Agencies cost more..but at least the employees are screened; they also do all the paperwork, handle taxes, arrange scheduling, and are insured. In other words if the home aid claims to slip and fall in your home, they can't sue your estate because the agency covers them under workman's compensation. Also if you pay them a certain amount during the year (like $2,000 but this may vary from state-to-state) you have to pay a "nanny tax". If you are still going to peruse hiring someone I suggest you install home cameras all over your house in the event of something happening at least you will have it on video. And yes it is 100% legal to install video monitors in your own home because it's your property.

www.hrblock.com/tax-center/newsroom/filing/dependents/top-questions-parents-employing-nanny/

I never needed anyone's paperwork when I was hired for any residential work. As long as Mom stays happy and there is no problem, just keep monitoring things over there with Mom.

As CountyMouse had written about your Mom's assisted living is if a private caregiver is allowed.

My Dad's facility allowed private caregivers via an Agency, but there was still a lot of red tape the caregivers needed to go through to be allowed into the facility. And I can understand that, as the facility told me that some residents are afraid if they see someone they don't know. My Dad's caregiver was a social butterfly so everyone got to know her rather quickly :)

Also the facility would want to see paperwork that the caregiver has had her flu shot for the season, and paperwork that she had a TB test within the past year.

Here are some of the points to consider - I took this checklist from A Place For Mom's website, and it is actually aimed at family caregiver contracts, but many are also applicable to a private hire individual:

Benefits: If the caregiver is leaving a job, then they’ll be giving up significant employment benefits. Discuss how to fairly handle health insurance costs, paid sick days and vacation time.
Compensation: Now figure out a reasonable rate to pay the full-time caregiver for the hours they’ll be working. This should be a rate that’s comparable to what professional caregivers are paid.
Dates: When will the duties outlined in the contract begin? Will you set an end date now or a date to revisit the terms to see if everyone still agrees?
Expenses: As the main person helping run errands and pick up prescriptions for your loved one, the caregiver is likely to incur expenses. Discuss and determine how the family will handle that as well.
Hours: This contract defines a job. You should include set hours for work and keep them realistic. How many hours a week will the primary caregiver be available to take care of your loved one? Which hours? Who steps in the rest of the time?
Payment terms: When will the caregiver be paid? Weekly on Fridays? Will it be by bank transfer, check or another method?
Responsibilities: “Caregiving” is a general term, but you want to lay out specifics here. Think in terms of the activities of daily living (ADLs) that are commonly used in the senior living industry to help define the level of need seniors have. Name the specific responsibilities as clearly as possible.

As your mother is in an ALF, you had better discuss things like liability and professional indemnity insurance with the facility's admin team. There may also be notes in your mother's ALF agreement about individual caregivers and what's required.

You and the caregiver and your mother all definitely DO need a contract; and it might be a good idea to run it past a professional. Don't let this put you off! - because it is a great start that you know the person through personal recommendation, and that she and your mother took to one another; but most problems come from people's not talking about the nuts and bolts to begin with. Best of luck, I hope everything works out well.