Signatures The personal care agreement must be signed by both the care recipient and the caregiver. In some states, certified certification may be required for validity purposes. They create a contractual relationship between the employer (person in need of care) and the employee (caregiver), a relationship that requires withholding tax and payment of tax. Other considerations include whether to provide benefits such as health insurance or workers` compensation. In the area of taxation and social security, you may want to seek the advice of a lawyer to confirm what is true in your situation. Consider a vacation pay provision to compensate for caregiver stress or a pay raise after a year for a job well done. Once this document is completed, it is a good idea to have the guardian and caregiver sign (more frequently), or to have the client and caregiver sign, and then keep one copy at a time. In the case of a Medicaid long-term care applicant who pays a caregiver without this formal contract, Medicaid will most likely consider these payments as gifts and therefore a violation of the retrospective rule. A personal care agreement legitimizes the reason the payments are made to the person, or otherwise stated, provides proof that the Medicaid applicant is paying money to receive care services. If only an informal verbal agreement has been reached, there is no evidence as to why the person is receiving money from the Medicaid applicant. In addition to the contractual agreement, caregivers should keep a daily record detailing the services provided, hours worked and payments received. This provides additional evidence of the relationship between the Medicaid applicant (care recipient) and the caregiver, if Medicaid requires it.

Although this is an additional expense, the advice of experienced financial or family experts before entering a paid care situation can benefit everyone involved. Here are some essential provisions that every sample care contract should include: No, there is no need to hire a lawyer to create a personal care agreement, but in some situations, it is highly recommended to seek the advice and guidance of a professional Medicaid planner. This is especially true if the care recipient plans to apply for Medicaid long-term care in the future. If a personal care agreement is not properly drafted, a Medicaid applicant may unconsciously violate medicaid`s retrospective rule and be punished with a Medicaid vesting period. Medicaid experts are familiar with the specific rules for personal care arrangements in the state where you live and can help ensure the contract is Medicaid compliant. For people who are planning a lump sum payment, it becomes even more important to consult a professional for advice, as there is a risk that the payment will look like a gift and thus violate the retrospective Medicaid rule. Find a professional Medicaid planner here. “We don`t want to see our families as a burden, but care can cause burnout,” says Angela Manz, an attorney for senior attorneys at the Law Firm Manz in Virginia Beach, Virginia. “We need to do everything we can to raise our caregivers.” While it is not prohibited for a personal care agreement to exist between spouses, if the purpose of the contract is to “spend” excess assets to reach the Medicaid limit, this technique will not work. Indeed, all the property of a couple is considered as community property.

For other ways married couples can reduce countable assets for Medicaid eligibility purposes, click here. If a family member pays you for your services, it could be misunderstood as a gift that serves to hide assets, rather than a legitimate expense. This could prevent the person from receiving the long-term health services they need. With a personal care agreement, there should be no doubt that your family member is actually paying for your services as if you were a paid outpatient caregiver. If meetings don`t achieve the desired goals, family mediation in the United States is a growing trend that helps families cope with major life transitions. For more information, consult the National Care Planning Council, which is listed in the Resources section at the end of this fact sheet. When a caregiver and caregiver enter into an employment relationship, it is often recommended to ensure that the employment contract is on paper. This type of documentation is available via the buttons that label the image on this page.

You may download any version of this template (Adobe PDF, Microsoft Word (.docx), or Open Document Text (.odt)) at your sole discretion. A care contract is a way to hire a person or nurse to take care of someone else for a fee. .