My uncle is 83 and has a caregiver that he is constantly giving money to. He is kindhearted and has a lot of money, but this, I discovered after auditing his bank accounts, has been going on for years to the tune of $30,000 a month. The caregiver claims she never took any money from him other than what he offered to give her to help her out. He says he gave it willingly, but surely this is illegal! This is in Texas.
Usually if a caregiver is from a license Agency, he/she is not allowed to take any money. Unless it is an occasion gift card or $$ that is in a low amount and if that is allowed by the Agency.
Maybe it is time for the Uncle's Power of Attorney to see if he/she can start taking over the finances, such as the bill paying, etc. I remember my elderly Dad was more than happy to get that chore off of his plate :)
Mainly I was wondering if it was legal to give a caregiver that kind of money (Probably $4k to $5k per month was for his expenses...the rest just disappeared in checks written to the caregiver and checks for cash). She is not hired through an agency, and his arrangement with her was to pay her in cash. I am sure she is "off the grid" as far as IRS or any other government taxes. Would not surprise me if she is on welfare as well.
You said above that "for years" this caregiver has been siphoning off $30,000 per month, which we'll adjust to $25,000 per month to allow for the legitimate expenses which you mention in your second post.
As a minimum, at the very least, that means that you are saying this woman has relieved your uncle of more than half a million dollars.
Seriously? Is that what you mean? Is that what you put to her when she told you your uncle had been "helping out"? Over half a million dollars?
Very helpful indeed.
Be surprised if once you take over your uncle's finances and she is no longer earning 30k a month JFS she is no longer interested in caring for your uncle.
Grace + Peace,
Bob
Usually your options are to contact Adult Protective Services and/or consult with an elder law attorney.
An elder law attorney in your state should be able to help you understand if you can make a case that this was illegal and/or abusive, and whether it's worth trying to recover anything from the caregiver.
But attorneys are expensive, so you may want to do some more research first.
I'm just hoping to hear more about whether this kindly gentleman really has handed over that amount of money. I am agog.
I am in the process of giving POA to someone now. I am 53. I do not expect him to need to exercise it for some time, if ever. The whole point is for it to be there in case, because you never know and if you wait until you do know you're likely to be too late.
Tinkster, true. I was taking his screen name of NephewPOA as a clue.
Check with your attorney but, a gift is a gift is a gift....
If all those payments were really gifts, an independent investigation by elder protective services should be able to clear it up. But on the surface it sounds like a fleecing.
It is hard enough to find someone to care for the elderly without someone like that taking $ they obviously weren't earning
And OldBob-spot on correct, no doubt!
While the post itself seems legitimate enough - older person not thinking clearly being financially taken advantage of... the dollar amounts seem too outrageous to be accurate.
As Countrymouse points out - nearly half a million dollars a year? But $5,000 - $6,000 is okay as it's probably monthly expenses?!! What does this old guy do and/or buy each month cause that's a whole lot of Depends!
One would assume he owns his house so it's not rent... And I have to believe someone with that kind of money to give away has someone - besides the caregiver - in his life, like an accountant, attorney, - even someone at the bank who would have noticed something.
Seriously, old men with mighty big balances in their check books just don't live solitary lives with a lone caregiver being given half a million a year - minus of course the $5,000 - $6,000 a month for Depends and cigarettes. Not to mention a doctor willing to write up a incompetency diagnosis based on a phone call with a POA nephew, without having any tests to back it up. I mean, even if it's obvious the man is incompetent there will need to be test results if it is to stand up in court. Sure, all of this - it's possible but highly unlikely. I'm just sayin'...