Private Caregiver Presumption For Elder Caregivers

The percentage of older Americans increases each year, with a corresponding percentage increase of those considered the older old. Many older persons will develop chronic conditions, decreasing their ability to manage the activities of daily living and requiring many to move into assisted living facilities or group homes. When surveyed, a majority of people expressed that they wish to age in their own homes, and government programs are increasingly supportive of this option. This is a viable option for many if they have the assistance of private caregivers—who provide a vast array of support services—and essential person-to-person human contact during the last years of life. Not all caregivers are family; many are friends, partners, and former colleagues. Whether family or nonfamily, private caregivers often provide a recipient with self-sufficiency for many years, and for some until death. This Article discusses the statistics of aging and the obstacles faced by private caregivers who suffer economic deprivation as a result of the time and expense expended on behalf of an elder recipient. Presumptions, statutes, and the process of estate devolution work against compensation for a private caregiver. There is far too little recognition of what is contributed when a person feeds, bathes, administers medications, provides companionship, and confronts the bureaucracy meant to help the old. The common sentiment of all caregivers would be that they do it because they feel they must. But upon the death of the recipient, one person should not walk away with the benefits of the decedent’s estate and the other with nothing except the recognition of what they must do and did. To better provide for the equal treatment of private caretakers, this Article posits the creation of a private caretaker presumption in favor of elder caregivers. This presumption would apply to any person who dedicates himself or herself another’s care for a period of time sufficient to engender economic benefit to the recipient’s estate and a concomitant loss to the caregiver. Then, based upon the estate assets available, the parameters of the claim, and defined mitigating factors, a presumption is raised that the caregiver may file a creditor claim against the estate in an amount that would make the caregiver equal to the other objects of the decedent’s bounty. Existing remedies are insufficient; more is needed to promote equity.