Am I being selfish or is my way of thinking correct?

Absolutely not! Who will take care of you or your husband should you need care? I suggest you to talk to an elder care attorney. I did after a similar situation. The cost was going to be $10,000 - $12,000 a month just for room and board! My husband and I would be broke within 12 - 18 months. Then what?

Don't sign anything. Stick to your guns!

Not sure if this is the norm with senior care facilities when insurance reimbursement runs out. Maybe they have to ask per law?

Always ok to decline. No need to feel guilty. Plenty of great answers here to not have mom sign a contract with them. My gut feeling is that they are wanting money any way they can get it.

Hope you can find a better situation for your mother.

YOU are NOT responsible for your mothers expenses, if she runs out of money, get with their administrator and set up to get Medicaid for your mother.  Get in touch with an elder attorney.  I am surprised that they want YOU to pay for HER...........she is not your dependent child.  Now if they want someone to be responsible for handling her expenses, that is different but not to be responsible.  Wishing you luck and do NOT sign those papers until you speak with either an elder attorney, aging office or the NH administrator.

Your mother is responsable for herself unless you are the person the dependency court has given you custody of your mother. Even then it is with her money you put twords her care. Apply for medicade and the elgability monthly will be determined. Remember if she has a spendown always have in the plan to return home. This exempts her home to be a asset. If on medicade living with you or in a facility...you spend her money not yours and medicade will pay above her liability in a facility. The nursing home has a social worker that helps with medicade. Your example of request you to be responsable is there getting the bill paid and not helping you to apply for medicade.

IMHO.... you are not being selfish, you are being smart. If you have DPOA for your Mom, you can sign the paperwork using that title. I would not sign it unless you have DPOA. Since your Mom seems to be pretty much with it, the rehab facility can always have her sign her own paperwork but at this stage of her life you should definitely work with an eldercare attorney to make sure that she has a current, DPOA, healthcare proxy and an Advanced Directive.

You might want to really look and read the documents they want you to sign (I know..... it seems like that stack is bigger than War and Peace). In some instances the agreement ask you to be responsible for managing a residents finances not for paying for them (I worked at a facility that did that). The difference - the former statement wanted someone who would pay for Mom's trip to the inhouse beauty salon (that's always a separate charge), come to care conferences and in general be a point of contact. The latter statement wants you to fork over your money to pay Mom's bills (DON'T DO THAT.............. EVER!!) Yep ..... I'm shouting because that's important. Don't ever use your funds to pay for Mom's expenses. Better yet.... get hold to an eldercare attorney and let her/him read the agreement.

She will probably be a great candidate for rehab and will leave the facility after her 20 days but there is always the "next time" as a possibility so get those ducks in a row now while you can. And if you already have all of the above documents, I'd glance and make sure they were all fairly current and up to date.

Look into setting up a Third Party Special Needs Trust.
If the person is disabled, they qualify and, if I'm remembering correctly, any $$ they receive for medical issues, e.g., Medicare, Medical etc., is not required to be repaid upon their death.
Verify this info with a lawyer or on-line.

My lawyer told me to sign my name as POA by (insert mother’s name).

This is the kinda stuff you have to watch. Caregivers are burned out and tired. As such, they just roll with whatever the Nursing Home suggests.

If your Mom is there for only 2 weeks, medicare usually covers that. Why does the facility need you to sign papers for financial coverage during her 2 week stay? That's double dipping which is illegal. Sounds like the writing is on the wall for this facility, if your Mom needs to be in a nursing home I would try to get her into another one if that is possible. Now that you have had some education on all this, and if you are able to move her, if that is the direction you are going in, ask a new place to receive a copy of their paperwork before you do anything.
I went thru something similar with my Uncle. I send them a monthly payment from his checkbook. They asked for his SSI payouts and pension benefits go into an account they set up at the facility for him, I said no and they accepted it, no argument. I filed for medicaid for him. The amount the facility said he owed monthly was higher then when the medicaid approval come thru so it was all adjusted. Depending on how much money your Mom has, she may need to do a spend down first, I did not have to go thru this. Remember, whomever you talk to at the facility works for the facility, get someone on your side. I know its overwhelming to take care of all this, but it is all worth it. Good luck and I hope this helps you.

Imho, YOU are NEVER responsible for your mother's expenses.

Selfish? NO! You need your money for yourself. She needs to pay for her own care, very simple.

I cannot believe a nursing home would be legally allowed to make such a request. In any event as others have said, say NO

Never sign anything that says you will be responsible for your Mom's or anyone else's expenses. My lawyer has drilled that into my head every single time I speak to her. It is not being selfish, it is being smart and it's watching out for yourself. All the nursing home is interested in is getting paid. If insurance is paying for the first 20 days, then she's covered. If she needs help at home, that can be set up and paid for out of pocket from your Mom's money. If she needs extra time in there, then let them work that out with the Doctors. Every time my Dad needed extra time in the rehab he was in, they did the paperwork for the insurance and it was always covered. READ EVERYTHING THEY GIVE YOU because they can use different wording to say you'll be responsible. If there's a question, have a lawyer look over any paperwork you sign before signing.

Absolutely not. You are not selfish. Mom's care expenses are hers not yours. Do not sign anything that would make you personally responsible. Other posters will have details on this issue. Igloo is very good on these issues. I'd start thinking and planning now, because as your mom ages it almost surely will become a major issue.

Trust your intuition always. The home is wanting to make as much money out of each patient as possible..including your Mother.
If you sign the company that owns the nursing home will have the right to sue you for any unpaid bills
You don't need to put your and your husbands financial stability at risk to satisfy the greed of the nursing home company imho
Many lawyers will speak to you for free on the phone. Consider calling a lawyer to confirm what I have described above.
Re brain function and mental clarity .
Medical studies (and 2000 years of recorded herbal knowledge) confirm that the simple herb Rosemary will, over time, improve liver function, cognition, well being and happiness
When you get your Mother home you might consider giving her plenty of Rosemary (if possible fresh tops of the plant in flower..if not dried herb or even tea bags) with raw honey. Additionally adding rosemary to a morning bath or warm wash water will ease the aches, pains and stiffness that many older bodies suffer
Bless you for questioning what is best for your Mother