My 91 year old mother, who lives with me and my husband, was in the hospital with heart failure and liver problems. She was “out of her mind” for about 2 weeks. She’s now in a nursing home for rehab to get her strength back so she can walk. Before the hospital stay she didn’t use any walking aides. Her mind is about 95% of what it had been but the nursing home wants me to sign papers that make me responsible for all of her expenses. I don’t want to do that. Insurance is paying for the first 20 days. I can use my mother’s money until it runs out but I won’t be personally responsible for her expenses. My husband and I are both in our 70’s and will need our money to take care of ourselves. Am I being selfish?
Are you her POA? If not whoever is should sign as POA. If there is no POA, you or nursing home could pursue emergency guardianship to access mom's funds for payment.
That said, when my father died intestate, I signed what was at the time, my rights to a third of his estate over to my mother (this is no longer law in my state as far as I know).
In retrospective I realized that my father would PROBABLY have preferred that his legacy be spent on my children’s education, but at the time besotted with grief, I did what I thought would be best for my mother.
STILL, no regrets.
ALL THAT BEHIND ME, I would NEVER have signed making myself responsible for her care.
BEST of luck
Once her money "runs out," then you can apply for Medicaid.
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