As POA I have had to miss many days off work for hospital stays and doctor appointments. Can I be compensated if my aunt whom I am POA agrees?

Rainmom, I was wondering the same thing as my Dad is haphazard when it comes to paying bills, so I have taken over using my own checking account and having Dad reimburse me. Same when I use one of my own credit card for items he needs.

We just recently opened up a new bank account for Dad where I can sign his checks, thus pay through his checking account and not mine. It would save me countless number of hours trying to get Dad to reimburse me, as he is so darn fugal he drags his feet to pay me back :P I mean these are big bills such as in the past when he had full time Caregivers and when Mom was in long-term-care. Ouch.

All of his bills [with a xerox copy of my check] are in a 3-ring binder along with a running tab. So I have good notes that none of the checks are "gifts" to me. But I also was worried about the writing-a-check-to-me for reimbursements.

GardenArtist - thanks for the information. Honestly the question never occurred to me either. In fact it never occurred to me that I might be compensated until I started seeing the issue brought up here so often. I'll be honest, I never really read the DPOA document in detail - it's several pages long and lots of legal-ese - a bit intimidating. I was surprised to see the payment paragraph. I also was surprised to find an entire paragraph dedicated to her cat, lol! Seems I can pay my brother for caring for the cat in addition to paying for all related expenses like cat food and vet visits - that's my mom.
I guess it doesn't really matter as I won't be accepting any payment but I was a little concerned about the reimbursement checks as that's come up a few times. However I do try to be as through as possible in my notes and documentation when ever I'm spending my moms money.
It just stuck me as odd, that's all.

RainMom, after reading your question I became curious so did a quick search and learned that Colorado actually has a statute providing for compensation to a proxy, absent anything to the contrary in the actual POA document. I found legal sources that support that position.

I hadn't before this time even thought about the issue, so it's interesting that someone asked the question.

As to your specific question about using your credit card and reimbursing yourself, with supportive documentation, I doubt you're breaking any laws by that method. As to who would write the checks, I don't see how it could be anyone but you, unless there's a co-proxy.

However, I would research the statutes for your state to be sure and comfortable that you're within the guidelines statutorily created for proxies to act on behalf of someone.

Pamstegma - I'm just curious - my moms DPOA papers state that I can be compensated for my work as her DPOA. I choose not to take any money and don't anticipate that changing. But if I were being paid, who would write my check since mom can't? Also, on a couple of occasions I have paid for something with my own money - usually in a case when I'm getting something for her and they won't take personal checks and I've used my credit card - I then pay myself back with a check. I always keep receipts and detailed notes - this is breaking the law? This issue isn't addressed in the DPOA documents. So who would write the check to pay me or reimburse me?

A truly legal contract is drawn up by an attorney and notarized by same. Without a care contract, Medicaid would consider that compensation a gift.
Writing a check to your self as POA is totally illegal. Everywhere.

Here is a sample of an employment contract https://www.agingcare.com/documents/personal_care_agreement_AgingCare.pdf

I suspect you're doing this more as a function of a family member than a proxy under a POA, so you could ask you aunt for a caregiver contract by which she could reimburse you.

Here are some hits to help you:

https://www.agingcare.com/search.aspx?searchterm=caregiver+contracts