Elder Law Answers
Can I Make Gifts If I Am an Agent Under a Power of Attorney?
I am an agent under my mom's power of attorney. Do I have the power to gift money in her place?
Read moreIs an Agent Under a Power of Attorney Entitled to Compensation?
- August 18th, 2015
Q
My wife and I have are agents under my 86-year-old mother's durable power of attorney. We are her primary caregivers because she is not able to cook her own meals, clean her own home, do her own laundry, do grocery shopping, drive herself to doctor's appointments, allocate her own medications, or pay her own bills. We are both with her 24/7. I gave up my employment 10 months ago in order to care for her. Are we entitled to some form of compensation under the power of attorney?
A
Unless your power of attorney form specifically prohibits compensation, agents under a power of attorney are generally entitled to "reasonable" compensation. What is considered reasonable is going to depend on your duties and the area you live in. But it sounds like your duties go far beyond what an agent under a power of attorney would typically be reimbursed for. Usually, the best way to handle compensation for caregiving responsibilities is to agree on a reasonable rate with your mother and create a written caregiver contract. If your mother ever applies for Medicaid, state officials could contend that the payments were intended simply to reduce her assets to qualify for coverage. Before compensating yourself, we strongly recommend you contact an elder law attorney to find out what is allowed in your state and to help draw up a contract. To find an attorney near you, go here: http://www.elderlawanswers.com/elder-law-attorneys. For information about your duties as an agent, click here.
Local Elder Law Attorneys in Ashburn, VA
Meet William Fralin
(301) *** ****
Learn more
William Fralin
The Estate Planning & Elder Law Firm PC
Bill founded The Estate Planning & Elder Law Firm, P.C. in 1994. Bill limits his practice to the areas of estate planning and administration, incapacity planning, Medicaid, asset protection planning, and elder law. He is one of (15) fifteen attorneys practicing in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia, ce...
(301) *** ****
Tell us about your legal issue and we will put you in touch with William Fralin.
Meet Margaret O'Reilly
(703) *** ****
Learn more
Margaret O'Reilly
Margaret A. O'Reilly, PC
Margaret A. O’Reilly is an estate planning and elder law attorney with over thirty-five years of legal experience. Attorney O’Reilly graduated from Duke University with a degree in psychology, and received her law degree from Northeastern University School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts. For over 15 y...
(703) *** ****
Tell us about your legal issue and we will put you in touch with Margaret O'Reilly.
Meet Samantha Fredieu
(703) *** ****
Learn more
Samantha Fredieu
Hale Ball Carlson Baumgartner Murphy PLC
Attorney Samantha Simmons Fredieu is an associate at Hale Ball. Ms. Fredieu graduated magna cum laude from Vermont Law School where she was the symposium editor on the Vermont Law Review, a production editor on the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law, and a member of the Moot Court Advisory Board. She has clerked for...
(703) *** ****
Tell us about your legal issue and we will put you in touch with Samantha Fredieu.
