Can I purchase insurance on my Mom or does she have to sign for it?

Life insurance works on the premise that you will likely live long enough such that the premiums plus the investment of the premiums by the agency are greater than what the insurer pays you....else insurance companies would fold. Therefore they do not provide new life insurance policies to the elderly or terminally ill....as their life expectancy is short.....if you could the rates would be exhibit ant.

Late stage life insurance is like trying to bet on roulette after the ball slowed down and is almost set.

Jossie, if you are able to get life insurance for your Mom, please note that some policies won't pay out if anything should happen to your Mom within the first year or two of having the policy.

What is the goal of the insurance?
Is it to have $ to pay for a funeral & burial, that is better done by going and paying in full for a pre-need funeral agreement. If there is Medicaid possibly in your mom's future, you need to make sure the policy is irrevocable with no cash value in order for it to be OK for Medicaid.

OR is this for life insurance to leave $ to family? That is going to be very very expensive and if you can find a company that will insure an 82 yr old with Alz, the face value of the policy will likely be small (10K - 25K) with the premiums required to be the same amount if not more. Again if Medicaid may need to be applied for, you may find that moving 25k in assets to buy a life insurance policy at this late date will be viewed as doing this for Medicaid asset avoidance and get a transfer penalty of the amount paid for the insurance policy unless the beneficiary is the state.

For health insurance, she should be on Medicare as almost everybody in the US qualifies for Medicare once they turn 65.

Pam - the commercials ads for those insurance policies should be banned. I don't know what is more egregious, the Reverse Mortgage shills or the life insurance ones. yeah sure & I have some land for you to buy on the Louisiana coastline….

She has to answer several health questions and sign to verify they are accurately answered. Alzheimer's makes her almost uninsurable. Don't believe the ads on TV. The most you will get is a $25K policy for about $400 a month, and for the first 3 years they only refund the premiums you paid in. My FIL was dumb enough to buy such a policy.

And, no, she doesn't have to sign for it since she is your mother. There is a relationship there that is easily understood.

What type of insurance? You can purchase life insurance from some companies, but the premiums will be very high since she is 82. Insurance companies are in the business of making money, so will want what you pay in to be greater than they will pay out. A few companies offer term life without questions up til age 85. The premiums are high for a "unit" of insurance. Be sure to ask what the unit is.