The longer you work in the care industry - and as a live-in carer in particular - the more likely it is that you will have a client who passes away while you are with them. What makes it even worse is that you may have been there a long time and become fond of client and family.

It is likely then, in cases where the family live far away and cannot get there often, that they ask you to start clearing out their loved one’s belongings.

Should you do this?

There are two ways to look at this, namely that you are helping the family, and secondly – and more important – is that you may be leaving yourself open to all sorts of suspicion.

It is an excellent gesture to help the family this way, but you should remember to discuss everything you do with them. You can offer to sort out clothing and check all the pockets before bagging it all up. This will leave the family with much less to do when they arrive.

While the house (as is often the case with older clients) may be filled to the brim with old paperwork, it really should not be your responsibility to wade through and sort of policies and bills. With the best intention you may throw something important away.

In some cases where your client has dementia, they often do not know what they are doing and can even give gifts to people while not remembering about it afterwards.

Family who remember where a particular picture, vase, or ornament has stood for years may find that it has disappeared. Suddenly, you could find yourself a suspect.

If you are asked to help?

The most important thing in this instance is to cover yourself. Remember that the entire house and all its contents are literally at your fingertips and anything that does not seem to be there may have (in family’s thinking) have been removed.

If you sort out any ornaments, vases etc. you should take pictures and send them to the family before heading to the charity shop with them. You never know whether a family member had cherished the thought of that special little vase – and now it is gone!

Should the family ask you to sort out clothing and bag it, make sure you know which, if any, they want to keep and where they want you to take the rest.

Be very clear on what to do with that mountain of coats and pile of shoes. Go through every pocket in case money has been tucked away.

What about jewelry?

This is one thing that, at the start of live-in care, should have been removed from the house. In many cases your client may not even be aware of their belongings anymore. This is a good time to ask family to remove and keep for themselves. This removes any temptation for people who come into the house.

If there is still a drawer of jewelry after your client has passed away, simply offer it all to the family, rather than decide what to keep and what to donate yourself. Remember that you never know what family members are wanting to hold on to after the death.

Final thoughts

While it is a noble thing to do - sorting out your deceased client’s possessions - it really is the responsibility of family or next-of-kin to do this.

While it will help them, it places a huge amount of responsibility on you as far as theft is concerned so be careful to always have permission to do so, and clear instructions on what exactly you should touch.

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