Legal Question in Elder Law in California

Legal responsibility living with an elderly person

My 37 year old daughter moved in with an elderly woman about one year ago to oversee her mainly at night in trade for rent. She is friends with the elderly womans daughter. There is no money exchange. Social Services pays her to clean the house only. She did sign some papers with HUD but misplaced her copies. She called HUD to ask them to send her copies of her signed papers but they told her that she need to get the copies from her employer(the elderly woman's daughter) How can HUD consider her an employee of the woman's daughter since there is no money exchange? Recently the situation has changed. The elderly woman seems to have developed signs of Alzheimer's and/or dementia. There has been incidents where the woman has left her house immodestly dressed, and wandered around town. Also, she buys meat on her walks and leaves it out all day and then expects my daughter to cook the spoiled meat. If anything should happen to her, what would the legal consequences be for my daughter since she lives with her? My daughter considers herself a caregiver even thought there is no money exchange and she believes that if something happened the family would not hold her accountable. Even if that is true, what about the authorities?


Asked on 2/05/05, 12:43 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Terry A. Nelson Nelson & Lawless

Re: Legal responsibility living with an elderly person

Sounds like she has assumed responsibility for the woman's care, which means just what it says. She needs to get's some legal advice on whether and how to proceed and protect herself from claims and lawsuits. She can contact me if interested in doing so.

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Answered on 2/05/05, 4:13 pm


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