[Garden8794]

I was appointed POA for our father almost 18 yrs ago because I am the oldest of 3 children. With the onset of his dementia I managed to sort through his financial affairs and figure out what he had for insurance policies purchased some 30-40 years prior, 30 yr old stock certificates, his bank accounts and CD's, etc. as he had no recollection of any of it. He has a 25% share in rental property that we manage as a family and until about 3 yrs ago I dealt with collecting the rent. Within the past 5 yrs he needed additional care we moved him into a nursing home. Eventually his money had to be spent down in order for him to qualify for Medicaid. I managed his finances through all of this and now I deal with a caseworker to provide expenses in order to offset what they see as profit on a property that none of the rest of us collect on. My siblings really don't want to be involved if they don't have to, but occasionally I ask for their support. I listed it with a realtor recently, but we have little hope of selling it due to it's location in the city we live in. I'm now at a point where I believe my siblings are taking for granted the time that this requires of me. In the POA document, it states that the agent can collect a reasonable fee. It also states that the responsibility can be passed down to siblings in order as listed. So here are my questions. Is it fair of me to charge for my services after not doing so for all these years? If so what is a fair amount? Or would it be better for me to just pass this responsibility down to the next person in line, even though they aren't interested in the job?

[ScottGem]

I see no reason for not charging a fee, if there is money to collect from. I would check with local attorneys to see what would be a reasonable fee. But something around $25/hr should be OK.

[Oliver2011]

Is it fair - YES. You are entitled to reasonable compensation. There are probably accepted and unacceptable standards in your state (assuming you are in the US). Compensated agents are usually held to a higher standard than those agents who do the work for free.

[joypulv]

Having been one of three siblings who took care of our parents, I would agree that it's very fair, but I would ask each sibling if they think X is a fair lump sum for the past and is Y a fair wage for the future. You don't have to ask, it's just a good idea. I'd summarize all you have done of course.
(I didn't charge for anything because my father was able to take care of finances, and I lived with them for free, and didn't mind the care time, which was minimal until the last month.)

[Oliver2011]

Just to add to Joy's point - yes definitely do everything above board, full disclosure, etc. It sounds like you do that anyway.

[Garden8794]

I see no reason for not charging a fee, if there is money to collect from. I would check with local attorneys to see what would be a reasonable fee. But something around $25/hr should be OK.

Seems I've heard before that something around $25-$30 hr. is reasonable. That helps. Thank you.