When you notice that an elderly loved one has become less self-reliant, you may start to wonder if they need help. When your dad stops shaving or your mother continues to let the mail pile up, you may offer to help out with household duties. However, as your loved ones continue to forget or simply aren’t mobile enough to do things they used to, it can put a lot of strain on your daily life.

But, you don’t have to care for your loved ones by yourself: It’s okay to ask for help. This doesn’t necessarily mean sending them to a nursing home, but it can mean hiring someone to help in running errands, doing the dishes, paying the bills, and performing other tasks that you may not have the time or capacity to help with. Here are five signs it’s time to find professional help for your elderly loved ones.

Topics: elder care, senior care

 

Organizing senior care at home for your mother can be an overwhelming process that is emotional and frought with a lot of big decisions. Once you have done your research and you’ve helped your mother privately hire a caregiver, you’ll have to figure out proper payment solutions for your mom’s caregiver. Not only are there weekly  pay checks to coordinate, but there are also a variety of payroll taxes that need to be calculated and factored in. If this is your first time figuring it all out, it can be incredibly complicated and you may not know where to begin.

Topics: senior care

Topics: elder care, assisted living, medicare, obamacare, senior care

Department of Labor Discusses Joint Employment, Changes in the Senior Caregiver Companionship Exemption and Announces Increased Enforcement

The Private Care Association, the voice of private duty home care, met in earlier this month in Orlando, FL and invited the US Department of Labor to discuss Joint Employment and Changes in the Companionship Exemption with its members. A guest appearance was made by Michael Hancock, Assistant Administrator for Policy, Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor and Melissa Murphy, Senior Attorney, Office of the Solicitor U.S. Department of Labor.  Mr. Hancock and Ms. Murphy addressed an anxious crowd of almost 200 independent homecare staffing agencies to discus joint employment, the expiration of the Companionship Exemption for home health agencies and stepped up enforcement by the DOL in 2015 related to the enforcement of the Fair Labor and Standards Act (FLSA).

Topics: elder care, aging in place, senior care, nanny background screening

I spoke to a prospective client today on the phone. She just hired a senior caregiver - a woman she calls "Mom's helper" - to come in daily to assist her mother around the house. Her mother has had a series of falls recently, none serious, and needs basic help and companionship at home during the day while her daughter is working. As a sandwich generation daughter of a mother with similar issues with aging, I completely understood why she took this step and the challenges she faces trying to balance her Mom's needs and her own professional and economic needs.

Topics: aging in place, household employer, senior care, Hiring Elder care, nanny tax case study

Are you a nanny caring for young children or a senior caregiver caring for a frail adult? Do you employ a nanny or senior caregiver? Does this caregiver know how to reach important parties in an emergency? Every caregiver should be provided with an Emergency Contacts list at the start of employment.

Topics: senior care, nanny, emergency plans, caregiver, nanny tax case study

Quality senior care is a challenge millions of families are facing as our aging family members require increasing amounts of personal care services.

Topics: elder care, aging in place, senior care, companionship services

We took a difficult call recently from an adult daughter of an elderly couple who employed two senior caregivers. The Smiths live in New York

Topics: eldercare, aging parents, senior care, payroll tax enforcement, nanny background screening

According to Merriam-Webster, "The Sandwich Generation" is defined as a generation of people who are caring for their aging parents while supporting their own children. I define The Sandwich Generation as 90% of my friends. The Sandwich Generation has very full plates between being successful professionals by day and stressed out parent and adult daughter/son by night.  Trying to keep all the balls in the air is challenging and can be draining.

Topics: aging parents, senior care, hiring care for seniors

Usually around this time of year we start getting worried phone calls from families confused by the household employee taxes or the "nanny taxes." We pulled together some more of the frequently asked questions our tax experts are getting in time for April 15th. 

Q. My domestic (elder caregiver, housekeeper, nanny) wants to be treated as a "contractor." Can I do that?

Topics: elder care, eldercare, household employee taxes, senior care, 1099 v w-2, senior home-care workers