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Automatically translated version. The German original is authoritative; all amounts and legal references are unchanged. Zur deutschen Fassung.

Organizing Home Care: The Checklist for Families

Updated on 05.07.2026 · Amounts verified against official sources (BMG/SGB XI) · Reading time approx. 8 minutes

Suddenly a care situation — and what feels like a hundred construction sites at once: applications, medications, appointments, and the family has to reorganize itself. This checklist brings order to the first weeks and prevents one person from carrying everything alone.

Phase 1: The Legal and Financial Foundation (Weeks 1–2)

• Apply for a Pflegegrad (care level) — immediately, as the date secures retroactive benefits. Instructions here.
• Sort out the Vorsorgevollmacht (lasting power of attorney) & Patientenverfügung (advance healthcare directive) (without a power of attorney, relatives are not allowed to decide).
• Create an emergency folder (Notfallmappe): diagnoses, medication plan, allergies, blood type, emergency contacts, insurance card — within easy reach for emergency services and stand-ins.
• Use care counseling (free of charge, § 7a SGB XI — care support centers (Pflegestützpunkte) provide neutral advice; if you receive Pflegegeld, advisory visits are even mandatory).

Phase 2: Setting Up Everyday Life (Weeks 2–4)

• Keep a medication plan — with intake times and responsibilities, so nothing is given twice or not at all.
• Bundle appointments: doctors, therapies, the assessment — a shared calendar for everyone involved prevents duplicate trips and forgotten appointments.
• Divide tasks fairly: make visible who takes on what (shopping, driving, official mail, finances) — and reshuffle regularly.
• Organize relief: use the 131 € Entlastungsbetrag (relief amount) for household help, order the care-aids box (42 €/month), and look into companionship-care services.

Phase 3: Making It Sustainable for the Long Run

• Adapt the home: remove tripping hazards, add grab bars, a night light — larger conversions are subsidized by the fund with up to 4.180 € per measure.
• Plan time off: Verhinderungspflege (respite care) and Kurzzeitpflege (short-term care) (combined annual budget up to 3.539 €) are there to be used — family caregivers who never take a break get sick themselves.
• Document: a care diary (Pflegetagebuch) helps with upgrades, appeals, and handovers to doctors or the care service.
• Keep talking: one dedicated family channel for coordination instead of scattered messenger groups — that way information does not get lost and everyone sees the same status.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which documents should be sorted out first?

Vorsorgevollmacht (lasting power of attorney) and Patientenverfügung (advance healthcare directive) — without them, relatives are not allowed to decide in an emergency. After that: the Pflegegrad application, an emergency folder with the medication list and important contacts, bank and insurance documents.

What subsidies are available for modifying the home?

The Pflegekasse subsidizes home-environment improvements (e.g. bathroom conversion, ramps, stairlift) with up to 4.180 € per measure — from Pflegegrad 1.

How do we divide tasks fairly within the family?

Make the work visible: write down all tasks (shopping, doctor appointments, medications, official mail), distribute them weekly, and tick off what is done — kept together digitally, everyone sees the same status and no one invisibly carries the main burden.

What is Verhinderungspflege?

When the main caregiver needs a vacation or is ill, the fund pays for replacement care. Since July 2025, it shares a combined annual budget of up to 3.539 € with Kurzzeitpflege (short-term care) (Pflegegrad 2–5).