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12 years ago I sold my home and was getting divorced. My son and I moved in with my recently widowed mom for what we thought was a temporary thing. I ended up back together with my husband who also moved in here. While we were looking at places to live my mom kept hinting how nice it was to have us here and didnt want us to go. Then we needed to stay here and now whe needs us here. We both have told her that as long as we are living and able she will not leave her home and move into an assisted living/nursing home. Now shes 90 (and in great shape for 90) theres alot of things she can no longer do like laundry, cleaning and cooking. I cant leave her alone all day without worrying if shes fallen or eaten etc. Can i be paid as a caregiver for her to bring in an income?

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Your Mom can pay you a salary. You will need to put together a written contract as to what would be your salary, how many hours a day you will work, what days off [if any], if she will pay for your health insurance, and that you will be responsible for your own payroll taxes.

You need to look into the future. Your Mom is mobile now and in great shape for 90. So were my parents. Six years ago my parents would walk 2 miles a day. Now Dad can barely walk down the driveway to get his mail. Each year the age faster and faster.

So you will need to plan ahead for the time when your Mom will need care 24 hours a day. That will come upon you quicker than you think. You will need to plan to hire someone to work one of those three 8-hour shifts. Therefore, that pay to you from your Mom will now go to the outside paid Caregiver.
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Yes. Certainly. The trick is finding someone to pay you.

Does your mother have sufficient assets/income to pay you herself? That would be the logical course.

Is your mother eligible for Medicaid? In many states if Medicaid does a needs assessment and finds the recipient entitled to in-home care, that can be provided by a relative who is qualified. (If she is approved for skilled nursing once a week and you are not a nurse, you couldn't do that, but you could so homemaking, PCA, companion services, etc.) In my state this is done by having the family member sign up with the agency Medicaid uses in that county and that agency takes care of the payroll, including withhold taxes, etc.

So, I guess the first question is, what are Mom's finances like at this point in her life?
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I think the more sensible thing would be to pool resources and each one of the four of you contribute 25% to the cost of mortgage/utilities/food.
Your 90 year old mother is already sheltering 3 adults. Asking her to pay you on top of that seems a bit unfair. Get a part-time job if that is all you can find, you need to keep paying into social security unless you plan on living in a homeless shelter when mom is gone.
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