How to deal with no help from family?

You said you "had" to move back in with your Mother... Sorry but that was your choice...

I do understand how you feel though I have 7 siblings and only 1 comes to see Mom which gives me a day off which I spend with my husband..

As far as your Mom's Will it's her money your all her children..

If you want to continue caregiving for your Mom you should make an appt with a Attorney who specializes in Elder Law.. Have Mom make you her POA both medical/financial and have Atty write up a Caregiver Agreement. Mom would pay you from her funds for all you do for her 24/7.. She can also change her Will if she wants...

If she can't afford to pay you and you can't afford to keep her home, then I would look into Assisted Living or Nursing Home care for her.. Any willed property or funds would need to be spent to pay for her care, so that would take care of the even shared Will...

marymack, I am pretty much in the same situation, but I don't let it bother me. I'm a bit more secure since I have some retirement savings. With the lull in my sales these past two years, unfortunately, I've already had to tap into it.

The thing is that I know I can take care of myself if I need to. It sounds like you seriously need to get a job you can depend on to support yourself. There are too many options for your mother's care to sacrifice yourself on the altar of caregiving. You can work and your mother can be cared for by using her own money to pay for the care. Assisted living is in the reach of most seniors if they will just sit down and crunch the numbers.

Many seniors don't want to go into assisted living, but to expect one child to sacrifice their livelihood and retirement so the parent won't be inconvenienced is too much. You have a duty to take care of yourself when no one else is doing it. Then you can help with your mother in the time you have remaining. Talk to the POA to map out a plan for the future.

I think the reason why siblings don't step up is because by the time the parents need care, they've been out of the house for decades and don't want to change their lives. Two years ago my BIL and his wife took several big vacations i.e. expensive, luxurious vacations to exotic, far-flung destinations. How many visits did they make to my inlaws that year? One, and for just two days because they had to get back to their busy lives. I was livid and my husband was disappointed but now we know to expect very little from them. I was livid because my inlaws "turn cartwheels" whenever this son shows up and kiss his butt like it's made of chocolate. In the days before this son visits that's all my inlaws talk about and they perk right up...it's amazing. So whenever we get a fake offer of "how can we help" from this sib, I just roll my eyes and tell them straight: "visit the folks, that's how."

This is what I find sooooooo distressing about some caregivers. It would be fantastic to be blessed with 20/20 vision in advance but we aren't. Let's be honest here if one sibling earns less than the rest then they so very often get the short straw - they help with NO input from siblings. Every ounce of the siblings energy goes into keeping that other sibling in line and doing the work, while they blissfully carry on their own lives with no thought for their sibling.

I love it when families pull together and really SHARE the care but it is darned rare, although I do know one or two in here who have had that relationship. Now on to the will issue - it's the elephant in the room isn't it?

I cannot understand what is wrong with saying that if one person has done ALL the care for xx amount of years for NO pay that they are entitled to a greater share of the inheritance. Perhaps if that were LAW more siblings would step up to the plate and DO something.

If the law cannot be made that way (and I do know it can't) then pay for the care should be taken from their parent - Sorry for all you who are opposed but caregivers should have rights too. If then they CHOOSE to forgo them all well and good but currently that have NO rights and I can't see it changing any time soon. Yes they can opt to put parents in care but I think a lot of the stress and worry about the caregiver's future would be relieved if they were paid for caring as a job.

Im not talking a fortune either. Not a ridiculous 3000$ + a week but something that is a living wage for them even if it was in the form of an insurance policy for their future. Yes they get free room and board but for some they are doing what is effectively house arrest for they have no respite.

I said to someone only yesterday very tongue in cheek that I would actually be better off in prison theoretically - not emotionally don't get me wrong but I would be better of financially, have more access to things. Especially in the UK where their laundry is done for them, their meals are cooked for them, all medication dental stuff is free. They have TVs in their rooms.

But you wouldn't be able to go out they said - can't now is my stock reply!

It the whole issue of she's your mother/he's your father. Drives me insane. ALL carers SHOULD be paid for the work they do. They are valuable assets in the care services yet still none is willing to acknowledge that worth in cold hard cash and I cannot for the life of me see why. If the daughter didn't care or the son as it is in some cases then the inheritance would not exist. Yet a person can, for whatever reason, give up what turns out to be their entire life eventually (as care needs increase no-one notices trust me (except the caregiver of course)

Jowilson002 Why do you hate to tell her No? If she doesn't know she is putting a burden on you, she has no reason to stop. Why are you using your money? Why doesn't she use her own money?

I can relate to the siblings-don't-help delimma. It sucks.

But on the other hand, when my sibling does grudgingly agree to help with something, considering the quality of the help that's provided, I'm often glad she ISN'T more involved, both for my parents sake and for my own sanity.

Example: Two years ago my sibling agrees to do my parents' Part D Medicare signup every year, after I ask her to do this one little thing to help. She does it successfully in October 2014, with the help of the pharmacy. Near the end of October 2015 I give her the list of meds in a white envelope that says 'medication lists for Medicare Part D signup'. I specify on the list all the details she needs to know. All she has to do is take the list of meds to the pharmacy and THEY will do the Medicare database update for her, do the cost comparison on the Medicare site for her, determine the optimal Part D provider for her, and even walk her thru the actual signup with the provider that's done over the phone. Does she follow through? Of course not. When I check back with her in a month, her answer is something along the lines of: Gee, i don't remember you giving me an envelope. And: Gee, I have to do that signup EVERY year? (And btw, this sibling was the salutatorian of her high school class.)

Another example: I recently got shingles and couldn't take care of my parents for a couple weeks. During that time I stayed in my own home and we had agency caregivers at their house more often than usual during the week. Did my sister step in to help? Well...she lasted one evening...then claimed my 90-year-old dad disrespected her by treating her like a child (she said he told her to quit playing with his bed's remote control). And refused to come back. When I told her I was kinda depending on her to help out, just for two weeks, she did grudgingly decide to stop by for 1 hour a day to check on my mom (up till the day she was gonna be leaving for a vacation with her husband.) But my dad--forget it. She's still mad at him for stuff that happened literally 50 years ago. Geez. Is it the prescription drugs she's on? Mom always treating her with kid gloves due to my sibling's 30+ year history of depression? Sibling's husband's attitude toward her parents, possibly due to his painful history with his own parents? Who knows.

What I do know is that if your attitude is one of resentment toward your siblings because they get to go on vacations, live in their own home, have their own lives, and seemingly couldn't care less about your parents, you're the one who will suffer...and that REALLY sucks. Realistically, if we let that happen, do we have anyone to blame but ourselves?

(In my opinion) how we feel about ourselves and our lives, from day to day, is largely up to each of us. It's a choice we make when we get up in the morning and as we go about the day. I learned that one the hard way, many (many) years ago.

Those of us who do sacrifice for our parents the way you've described have two things our siblings will never have: 1) more precious time with our parents, and 2) the knowledge that we did what we could for our parents in spite of the sacrifices. I'm guessing this may bring some small comfort when our parents do eventually pass and we are left behind and miss them like crazy.

Yeah, it's REALLY hard sometimes. When my mom is griping about the 1000th tiny little thing she now wants done differently in the kitchen, when my dad is moving SO slowly during a transfer, when the stupid condominium that they live in has another leak dripping down from the ceiling that I have to figure out how to handle.... sometimes I want to scream. And occasionally I still get bugged by my sister's lack of involvement and seeming, growing disinterest in my parents' lives.

But when I can manage to take some time for myself, whether it's a day in my own home, a class at the YMCA, an hour at Starbucks or the bookstore....I get my perspective back. It's then that it becomes clear again that I'M the lucky one. My sibling is the one who is missing out...and sometimes I do honestly feel sorry for her. But it's her choice and her loss.

Regarding the money, I personally insist that my parents DON'T gift me any more each year than they give my sibling each year, even though my sister rarely even VISITS my parents, let alone helps unless begged to do some little thing. Why? Well, because if they did that, I'm afraid that there would eventually be resentment on my sister's part and then we'd have a big-old family mess. I do not consider my sister a greedy person, but she's human and eventually the numbers would get to her. As for their will and stuff like that, I would NEVER want more $ than my sister was being given, even if my parents offered such a thing. I think that would make me feel, at some level, like they might have loved me more than my sister. And that would make me feel totally icky inside, forever.

So, in summary.... siblings who don't help suck... we who DO help are the lucky ones, though it may not always seem like it.

Just one person's opinion, for what it's worth.

Take care and be good to yourself. You sound like a nice person who could use less stress and more ME time. Wishing you success in finding it... and many blessings.

Oh, the barbed comments drive me crazy. I don't think they're meant to be mean, but they do feel like criticism for something we have little control over. A lot of the time I think they are said because the talker doesn't want to share any responsibility. It is a lot easier to say "You live like hermits" than it is to come over more often to make it not so. Maybe it would have been good to say that if family visited more often than you wouldn't be living like hermits.

Lancelot, I get the feeling that since your brother brought the Gatorade for your mother and left it without saying anything that there are some feelings running deep in the family. This is unusual behavior. Does you mother sleep a lot or was there a lot of bad feelings growing up?

BTW, Colonial Penn does not pay out if a person dies naturally within two years of taking out the policy. So before paying the high premiums charged for older people, make sure there is no plan to die soon.

Yes, OhJude, you are right... I was lucky. ... I had family help from my daughter in caring for both very ill parents I moved in with, in order to help with care and organize our lives. But the age of those involved has a lot to do with it... In my case I retired @ age 62, and parents were 90-ish.... they had money to pay for extra help, but our County also had Income adjusted payment schedule for the cost of these aides.
Marymack - you might try finding out what help is available in the County your Mom lives in... by asking your Mom's Doctor for phone numbers to call..... Also a visit to an Elder-Attorney might be helpful with the legal implications + cost of a Life Ins. specific to the caregiver... I think if the parent can afford the premium for even a small amount of insurance for just you...that is a good way to help with the drastic financial changes that will invariably happen when a parent passes on.... There has to be a WILL as well, or the local Court will charge tremendous fees to settle the estate..... whether it is small or large...
Do NOT drag your feet on settling those items !......
Again : 1) ... talk to Doc's office about getting a social worker for your mom ! Explain to the Social worker about the depressive episodes of your Mom...
Say that you need help in " locating " help or referrals -- like what organizations are there in your town or county ??? !!!
2)... get social worker to help you how to find an Elder-Lawyer.. whose 1st appointment might be and often is free.
3)... Tell, do NOT ask your Mom, but TELL her you need to see what her will says, and what she has in mind and that you may want her to take out a small insurance just for you, as that insurance would not be affected by other circumstances in the will, after her passing.
4)... At the same time assure your Mom that you love her and want to take care of her,...yet you are putting your live on hold to be with her until she turns to age 100 ... if need be...!!!
Take your Mom with you to the Elder-Attorney's appointment...
Also, I found that hospitals have social-workers that may hook you up with helpful organizations !!!
If your parent is ever admitted in a hospital for anything.... ask for a social-worker to see your Mom right then, if you can't get one before then... Again a doc's office should also know how to contact Social services-help !!! I wish you luck and a good outcome.. Lastly, never mind what non-involved siblings do or don't do... if you get petty with them, it will just backfire and upset your Mother.... Realize that she is now a " PATIENT "whose thinking process is changing ever more with age... Remember one thing... that you will never have to reproach yourself at the end...because you were there to do the RIGHT thing... which is caring for your parent !!!
... and whether they say so or not... your siblings are sooo glad you can be relied on to be with your Mom.. and they have their own problems and shortcomings...Your kindness to them will bring out their gratefulness too, now or later !! ... You are the good person here... be proud of it !!! Once you can arrange for some help from a Nurse-Aide you might even try taking a course that may improve your chance for employment down the road... Think positive !!!
and be strong ...!!!

Jola11, I love your attitude. It was clear to me since the caregiving for my parents began, that this is one tough road and I never had expectations of getting any help. I am grateful that my sister did step up and regret that she has this burden at all. I wish she could enjoy her life and would understand if she bailed. Now we are both tired and anxious all the time. She has to have a hysterectomy next month and more will fall to me. I pray for the health, strength, and patience to continue.