[NA]Hiring assistant for elderly[NA]

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Joined
Feb 23, 2005
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20,264
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west Texas
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Dave Taylor
Has anyone gone through the process of hiring live-in help for an elderly person?
PM me if willing to share experiences, warn of pitfalls, explain how drug screening/background checks employment taxes & workers comp works.
Contract or work conditions example needed.
(Texas)
[LTCare policy may pay]
 
I own a company that provides in-home care for seniors.
17 years in business
300+ employees
PM me w questions

BTW don’t try to do it on your own
Hire a company to manage it
 
I fear if I did that, I would then have two entities to keep in line. No disrespect to your service, but I am 100 mi from the nearest stop light.
No way a company is going to know who is available around here or be able to do in-person interviews or monitor what is going on in the home or be available for face to face, for me. Not to mention, will the insurer cover a third party?

Well all that notwithstanding, sell me on this.
 
I am interested as well. My mom is 87 and needs help with the house cleaning. A maid isn't enough, but she doesn't need live in help.
 
I've no experience with hiring live in elderly caregiver but I hired our nanny. The employment taxes were just a bunch of quarterly paperwork, sending in payments and issuing a W-2 at the end of the year. Big PITA but not too hard. I got the information from the IRS, this was years ago but they sent me a package with instructions and the quarterly forms and everything it was self explanatory. Just have to keep complete records. It wasn't in Texas though, I don't recall workmens comp, is that a state thing?

I did a background check, no drug screen. We didn't make people pee back in the day. But nowadays I think you can have them go to a local lab to get it done, you don't actually conduct that test yourself I would think but I guess you could (?)

I went on the face to face interview more than anything.

The LTC policy may require they be a certified provider or have other conditions. You'll want to read that carefully.
 
We did, and still do, for our MIL.

When she was staying with us we found a service that sent a helper 3 days a week, MWF, I can't remember how many hours each day. She helped with dressing, bathing, and taking her out of the house to Dairy Queen, or the post office, or wherever, so she could see the outdoors and feel like a human being. Now that my MIL is in assisted living, we kept the same helper. They've become good friends.

We pay the service, they pay the helper.
 
Now would be a good time to ask the LTC insurer what they will cover, for caregivers. And what documentation they require.
Absolutely. First step was to retrieve a policy, it’s on the way.
 
Dave: Drop me a pm and I can put you in touch with my sister. She has a service that she calls on for watching our dad on an overnight basis a couple of times a month. We have a lady in our church that comes and does two days a week, during the day with dad so Kate can get errands done for home and her contracting business. She can give you an idea how it's worked for us and how things are set up.
 
A reputable agency will handle all the logistics, taxes, insurance, and assume all liability should anything happen.
Most, if not all, LTC policies require a licensed agency, which will also handle all the paperwork and filing.
I get asked all the time why someone shouldn’t just hire an individual themselves and, while that can work just fine if you know someone trustworthy, it almost always ends in disaster. They are notorious for calling off at the last minute, having car issues, and letting their personal drama affect their client, so a good agency will have a team of caregivers that are oriented to the client so there is always a replacement standing by. Caregivers are a tough demographic to manage and a good agency will be infinitely more qualified to handle this.
We interview thousands of applicants a year and 10% are employable and 1% go on to become good employees. I guarantee a good agency is better at selecting a caregiver than you are.
If you insist on hiring privately make sure you W2 them. In a private setting a caregiver does not meet the requirements for 1099.
Now, if you and your loved one live way off the beaten path then you are out of luck. No agencies or caregiver pool to draw from. Most likely it’s time to move.
 
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