Dad has agreed to let someone help around the house. Good. Do not turn that narrow yes into a vague job with a house key.
Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.
Before anyone starts, decide what the person is actually being hired to do, who directs the work, how payment will be documented, and what happens when the helper cannot come. Calling someone an independent contractor does not settle the worker's legal status. The facts of the arrangement matter, including who controls the schedule, supplies, methods, and continuing relationship. The government references behind that distinction are collected on the Sources page.
This is general planning information, not legal or tax advice. If the arrangement is regular, hands-on, or expensive enough that a mistake would hurt, take the written facts to a Missouri lawyer, tax professional, or payroll provider before the first payment.
Start with Dad's actual yes
Ask Dad to describe the job in his own words. Do not begin with everything you think he needs. Begin with what he accepted.
Write down the permitted tasks. A workable first list might say: bring groceries inside, change bed linens, carry laundry, take trash to the cart, and drive Dad in Dad's car only when Dad asks. Then write a separate list of tasks that are not included, such as handling medication, using bank cards, signing documents, lifting Dad from the floor, admitting other workers, or taking property out of the house.
This protects Dad's authority. It also gives the helper a clean answer when a small favor starts growing legs.
Find out whether you are hiring a business or a person
Ask for the exact legal name that will appear on the agreement and payment record. Then ask one blunt question: Who is responsible for wages, payroll reporting, insurance, supervision, and finding a replacement?
If the answer is an agency or established business, get that answer in the contract. Confirm whether the worker is the company's employee or a separate contractor. Ask who receives complaints, who investigates missing property, and who supplies a substitute.
If the answer is Dad, you, or nobody in particular, stop treating the arrangement like an ordinary vendor visit. A person who works in Dad's home under Dad's direction may create household employment, tax, insurance, and recordkeeping duties. Do not accept a handwritten invoice or a contractor label as proof that those duties disappear.
Name who can direct the helper
A helper cannot work for three bosses with three versions of the job. The agreement should identify the customer and one backup contact.
If Dad can direct his own help, say so. Your role might be limited to scheduling or receiving a missed-visit call. If Dad wants you to approve additional hours or purchases, put that limit in writing. Being an emergency contact or holding a power of attorney does not automatically make every decision yours. For the site's practical approach to authority and refusal, see Start Here.
Ask what the helper will do if Dad says no at the door, cancels a task after arrival, or asks for work outside the written list. The safe contract answer is usually a reporting path, not an argument in Dad's hallway.
Control money before money enters the house
Choose one payment method that leaves a record. The record should show who was paid, the service period, the hours or tasks, and any reimbursed purchase. Avoid a system built on loose cash and memory.
If the helper will shop for Dad, set a spending limit and require an itemized receipt. Decide whether the helper may use Dad's card, a limited prepaid method, or reimbursement after purchase. Never let convenience quietly become permission to know a bank password, write checks, or withdraw cash.
Ask who tracks mileage, cancellations, overtime, holidays, and expenses. You do not need to settle every possible dispute. You need to know which rules will be used before the first disputed charge appears.
Price absence, not just attendance
The private helper's strongest selling point may be that Dad likes one particular person. That is also the weak joint in the plan.
Ask what happens when that person is sick, delayed, on vacation, or finished with the job. Is there a vetted substitute? Can Dad refuse the substitute? Who tells you that nobody is coming? Which tasks cannot wait?
Make a short missed-visit plan. It should name the person who gets called, the task that must be covered, and the point at which the family uses another provider. A backup plan is not disloyal to the helper. It is what keeps one flat tire from becoming Dad's empty refrigerator.
Set the house rules without turning the house into a workplace maze
Decide how the helper enters. Use a method Dad can revoke without chasing down an unknown number of copies. State whether the helper may enter when Dad does not answer, bring another person, photograph anything, use indoor cameras, or disclose information about Dad.
Walk the helper through the permitted rooms and storage areas. Identify any locked room, firearm, pet, alarm, or damaged step that affects the work. Ask the helper to report hazards rather than improvise repairs.
Get an emergency instruction that fits the job. It should include Dad's address, the family contact, and when to call emergency services. It should not ask an untrained helper to make medical judgments or perform tasks outside the agreement.
Check insurance with real nouns
Do not ask only, Are you insured? Ask what policy covers injury to the worker, damage to Dad's property, use of a vehicle, and alleged theft. Ask whose name is on each policy and whether it applies inside a customer's private home.
If driving is included, identify the vehicle that will be used and who is permitted to drive it. Confirm the arrangement with the relevant insurer rather than assuming a personal policy covers paid work. If the helper transports Dad in the helper's vehicle, ask how that use is insured before the first trip.
If the answers are vague, write down the proposed duties and take them to Dad's insurance agent. The point is not to buy every policy offered. It is to find the uncovered job before somebody gets hurt doing it.
Put the exit in the first agreement
The written agreement should say how either side ends the arrangement, how final payment is calculated, and when keys, cards, documents, and Dad's property must be returned. It should also allow immediate termination for unauthorized spending, unapproved guests, unsafe conduct, or refusal to return access devices.
Keep a current list of what the helper has: key, garage remote, alarm code, card, phone, paperwork, or vehicle access. At the end, change codes the helper knew and collect physical items. Do not rely on a promise that nothing was copied.
Use one-page facts before a long contract
Before Dad signs anything, make a one-page job sheet with these headings: permitted tasks, excluded tasks, schedule, rate and expenses, supervisor, missed-visit contact, entry method, driving rules, insurance answers, and termination process. Compare the contract against that page line by line.
If a term is missing, ask for it in writing. If the contract contradicts Dad's job sheet, resolve the contradiction before anyone starts. If the proposed arrangement raises questions about employment status, taxes, liability, or Dad's authority to consent, the Local Help in St. Louis page is the next door to use.
Your next move tonight: sit with Dad for ten minutes and write the five tasks he is allowing and the five tasks he is not. Send that page to the proposed helper and ask who will legally employ, insure, supervise, and replace the person doing the work.