It’s certainly a taboo subject but unfortunately, it’s also one that needs to be addressed. The thought of your parents being admitted into a care home is certainly not one that anyone wants to consider, but at the same time it tends to become a necessity over time for many.
To make matters even more complicated, there is all sorts of red tape to navigate. From both a financial and legal perspective the options are endless, which is why we have enlisted the help of John Peck Legacy Lawyers to talk through the process. This is a company who have vast experience in helping families with legal issues when it comes to care homes, so hopefully the advice in this guide is going to be of significant use.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the majority of this information surrounds financial agreements. While your parents may have been completely independent in relation to their finances up until now, it goes without saying that this changes somewhat if they are going to reside in a care home. Most of the time, family members need to become more involved; whether this relates to the payment of bills or even managing investments.
All of the above can become somewhat complex, particularly if siblings are involved as well. Let’s take a look at the steps you can take to ensure that things are as simple as possible to manage.
Ensure all documents are in place
Unfortunately, it’s impossible to talk about every qualifying document in this regard – it’s going to vary significantly from case to case.
However, to provide a general overview at least, you’ll need to ensure that a Durable Power of Attorney, Advanced Directives and maybe a Representative Payee have been established. All of these effectively mean that you can manage your parents’ finances when they are unable to do so.
Consider a Personal Care Agreement
This next document isn’t going to be relevant in every case, and some people choose to ignore it altogether. However, if you have decided to provide your own accommodation or caregiving services, it’s this document which can facilitate a payment from them to you.
Again, it’s not something that’s regularly used and isn’t suitable for a care home, but in some scenarios it can work very well.
Always consider out-of-pocket expenses
One of the biggest problems that these situations prompt is when insurance doesn’t cover something. Out-of-pocket expenses in this regard cover the likes of deductibles and co-payments and the big question at the end of proceedings is who exactly is going to foot the bill. In a lot of cases it will be your parents, but this needs to be documented or at least agreed. At the same time, some siblings will look to split the expenses between them, but again this is something that needs to be agreed on beforehand to prevent any issues.
Unsurprisingly, the best advice for siblings is to put a document together, which will legally protect parties in the case of disputes arising in the future.
