How do I get on my mother’s financial account?

Med-cal is Medicaid correct. The home can petition to be her payee for SS and any pension she may have. That takes care of the future. Without financial POA you can't touch her acct. You need a conservatorship and I am not sure how you get started. You may have to go thru a lawyer to file your request with the court. You maybe able to use Moms money for this. Before using ur own money for Moms care, ask Med-cal if you will be able to get reimbursement once the conservatorship is OKd.

Hopefully someone who has gone thru this will respond.

Because your mother it not competent to make her own decisions, she cannot appoint you as her POA. It probably would have been a good idea to get POA and have her put you on her account while she was still functioning fairly well, but it’s too late for that now. You’ll probably have to seek guardianship. Get yourself an Elder Law Attorney to make sure everything is done the right way.