The Care Agreement Names the Client: Check Who Signs, Who Pays, and How It Ends Before Dad Is Asked to Sign

Most families skim the top of a care agreement and go straight to the rate. Start instead with the line that names the client. The client is the person whose home, schedule and care the document governs, and that may not be the person you assume. If the form lists you as the client and Dad as the person receiving care, the contract is built around your signature. If it lists Dad, then his consent is the starting point. A son who signs as his father's agent is in a different position than one who signs his father's name, and the agency should be able to tell you which one they are relying on.

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Ask who they think can sign

Put the question in writing: who does the agency believe has authority to sign for Dad, and what document are they relying on? Then find that document yourself and read it. If you hold a power of attorney, check whether its scope covers signing a service contract, and whether it is in effect now or only under a condition. If nothing is on paper, the honest answer is that you cannot sign for Dad yet. Before you sign anything with his name on it, bring the agreement to a lawyer who handles elder or family matters. That is a referral for a reading of the document, not a substitute for one.

Find out who pays and who approves the extra hours

The payer line is separate from the client line. Check whose account is charged, whose name the invoices go to, and who must approve any hours beyond the schedule in the agreement. Ask whether the agency bills by the visit, by the hour, or by a block, and get the minimum in writing. Ask who gets notified when a visit is shortened or cancelled, because that is where unexpected charges usually start.

Read the task list as the scope of the job

The task list is the scope. If a task is not written down, the caregiver is not obligated to do it, and you are not obligated to pay for it under this agreement. Look for meal preparation, transportation to appointments, housekeeping, and errands. Medication is the line to check most closely. A non-medical caregiver may give medication reminders and pick up prescriptions as an errand. The agreement should not assign the caregiver any handling, sorting, administering, or management of medicine. Medicine management stays with the family, Dad's doctor and his pharmacist. If the draft says otherwise, ask for a corrected version in writing before you sign.

Find the exit before you need it

Read the ending terms as carefully as the start. Look for the notice period each side must give, what counts as written notice, and whether a termination fee applies. Check the replacement clause: if the assigned caregiver is out sick or leaves the agency, what happens, and how quickly. Ask what the agency does if Dad sends a caregiver away at the door. Some agreements treat that as a cancellation, some as a missed visit that still gets billed, and some say nothing at all. You want to know which one before the first morning. If you signed at a kitchen table or any other place outside an office, check whether the paperwork includes a separate cancellation notice and what deadline it gives. Keep a copy of everything you sign, including the page with the notice address.

Treat Dad's no as part of the paperwork

If Dad reads the agreement and says no, do not sign for him as a workaround. Let him read every page. Let him ask his own questions and put them to the agency himself. A man who reads the terms and refuses has given you information you need, and the agreement should reflect what he agreed to, not what the family wishes he had agreed to. If he is willing to try a single visit before committing, write that trial into the agreement with its own end date, so neither side is locked into the full term by default.

Your next move tonight

Pull the agreement out and mark five things: the client line, the payer line, the signer on the signature block, the task list with medication limited to reminders and pharmacy pickups, and the notice and replacement clauses. Write the answer to each on one sheet of paper. If any answer is blank or says it will be decided later, do not sign yet. Send the agency one email listing those five items as questions and ask for written answers. Then use the Local Help in St. Louis page to find a reader for the contract before the first visit is scheduled.