| Shrnutí: | In life one thing is certain: we will all age. Due to increased life expectancy, the number of people affected by age-related illnesses, particularly dementia, who require ongoing, extended care will increase. Therefore, the question of who will care for older people is significant. Currently, limited places in aged care facilities, coupled with government policies encouraging people to age in the community, means that there is pressure on adult children, particularly daughters, to provide unpaid care for their older parent(s). Today, however, many adult children cannot afford to reduce their working hours to care for their older parents. Older parents are therefore compensating their adult children for the care they provide (or will provide) by transferring assets to them during the parents’ lifetime. To facilitate these transactions, family care agreements (Family Agreements) are increasingly being entered into. This thesis considers some of the legal issues associated with Family Agreements to better understand whether (if at all) Family Agreements are giving effect to the intentions of the parties whilst adequately protecting them from harmful outcomes. The thesis outlines ways in which the law has responded to population ageing and identifies areas that require further attention. This thesis mainly considers the position in Queensland, Australia, but also draws on case law and research from countries with comparable legal, health and aged care systems, particularly the United Kingdom, New Zealand and British Columbia, Canada. It concludes that the law in Queensland inadequately protects older people who wish to enter into Family Agreements. Further, it demonstrates that caregiving adult children are vulnerable to post-mortem equitable claims challenging the validity of the transaction(s) under Family Agreements, particularly because the law does not sufficiently recognise or value care work.
|
|---|