Are you one of the many older Californians who rely on an in-home caregiver to help you with everyday tasks that have become increasingly hard to manage? More and more people are opting to stay in their own homes rather than move to assisted living or other care facilities.
In-home caregivers help them do that if they don’t have relatives nearby who can help them. It’s only natural that if you have a caregiver to whom you’re especially close, you want to leave them a little something in your will – or more than a little something.
You certainly have every right to do that – assuming it’s your choice and you haven’t been pressured or tricked somehow into doing it. Unfortunately, some caregivers abuse their role in elderly, vulnerable people’s lives to exert “undue influence” on their estate planning.
What does California law say about caregivers?
That’s why California law states that a “donative transfer…is presumed to be the product of fraud or undue influence…if the instrument was executed during the period in which the care custodian provided services to the transferor, or within 90 days before or after that period.” That’s called a “rebuttable presumption.”
This means if a beneficiary or a probate court were to accuse a caregiver of using undue influence or other illegal methods to obtain an inheritance, the caregiver would have the burden of rebutting that allegation. The accuser is most likely to be a family member, like an adult child, who believes their loved one was taken advantage of. Maybe they simply believe the caregiver shouldn’t receive assets they expected to get.
How can you avoid conflict after you’re gone?
That’s why communication with loved ones is crucial as you do your estate planning or make modifications to your current plan. If they understand your reasoning and aren’t taken by surprise after your death, they’re more likely not to challenge your estate plan.
You may also choose to gift your caregiver something while you’re still around to avoid including them in your estate plan. Just be sure to document the gift so they’re not later accused of stealing. Just don’t promise to leave them something that’s not included in your plan. That promise means nothing under the law.
This is just one reason to have experienced estate planning guidance. With it, you can help avoid unnecessary, costly and stressful conflicts after you’re gone.