Here’s a pattern estate attorneys see often: an aging parent grows close to a caregiver. Visits from family slow down. Phone calls get harder to schedule. Then, quietly, the will or trust changes — and the caregiver is suddenly named where the kids used to be.
This isn’t only a private-hire risk. It can happen with agency staff too, if a family assumes “they work for a licensed agency” means it’s being watched.
The real safeguard isn’t the paycheck source — it’s the structure around the caregiver:
✔️ Licensed agencies bar caregivers from accepting gifts or being named in a will or trust — violating it is grounds for termination
✔️ Staff are supervised and often rotated, so one person doesn’t become a client’s only point of contact
✔️ Agencies carry mandatory abuse-reporting duties as a condition of licensure — creating a documented trail if something’s wrong
One more safeguard families overlook: ask your parent’s estate attorney to notify you directly if anyone else contacts them about changing the will or trust. Many attorneys will do this on request — and it costs nothing.
📞 Call us to talk through what real oversight should look like for your family.
