Mom in AL, when they signed contract they said I needed to sign my name not as POA. Is this legal?

It is not okay as you have now become a guarantor. Always sign POA/Agent, that is what my attorney said. I would ask for the papers back saying this was explained to you incorrectly. If they don't I would let them know you are contacting your attorney for fraud.

The facility can review your mothers financial resources and refuse to admit her if she does not meet criteria...so if that was the case they should have told you. Insurance does not cover assisted living..except long term care policies.

I believe they will all try to get you to sign, so I wouldn't dismiss the place just because of that.

CarolLyn is right on the money! When your intuition ever tells you something is not right... try and listen to it! What a shady place. Thanks for sharing that. It may help someone else down the road. There is good information in the Money and Legal section on this website. Especially on POA.

A lawyer told me not to sign. Mom can sign for herself ; )

Holy crap they did that to us for my moms rehab. They said Just sign this no worries. Then they were sending outrageous bills that insurance wouldn't pay like 1000 a week. Non itemized no...list of what it was for. Turns out it was a scam took weeks to get the list of what it was. My brother signing made him legally responsible for these bills. Her insurance paid it all except 25 per day copay which was 150 a week not 1000. It was so crazy. They were sooooo pushy and threatening. Turns out they were also wrong. Don't sign one thing. And request itemized bills. I told them I will not accept bills that are not itemized they said they would send bill collector after me what???? Then low and behold weeks later we get 4000 back. Plus the billing bully would harass my mother and never return MY phone call. My brother will never sign another thing.

All the best advice...always sign as POA and make sure the facility has a copy of the POA document. Also keep and make copies of all documents you sign or give them for filing with dates on the documents. They want to be sure they get paid. That is the sorry truth of it. I'd be looking for another place, because the administration will "cold shoulder" you and God forbid, your Mom too, if you prevail in this disagreement. That is most unethical. Get your lawyer involved ASAP. They are not putting your Mom's needs first, and that is why you have her there. I do hope you have other options available to you i.e. other places for her to be. There are AL facilities that are good and then there are others that are not. Perhaps Adult Protective Services should also get involved. That sounds heavy handed, but sometimes we have to be, for the sake of our loved one. Hugs and blessings.

My first thought was, they want to get paid. Dealing with assisted living facilities, I have not heard of them "making" a relative sign their own name. I would refuse, take your mother to another facility or ask to speak to their legal department. If they still refuse to admit her without your signature, you could lose your house if the bill isn't paid (they could put a lien on it). Sign her name with your POA. Period.

No, no, no. You should not have signed your name as a guarantor. It's perfectly legal to sign as POA whether there's a special space for it or not.
Unless you are OK with paying her bills if your mom runs out of money, I'd call the business manager for the community and make sure you get this straightened out. Threaten to move your mom if they don't let you sign a new contract.
You really MUST sign as "power of attorney for - - - - - -."

No this is not ok. What they're asking for is a guarantor, which is a different thing from having POA for your mother. See CarolLynn's advice for what to do about it. Next time - if in doubt, don't sign.

Read the contract that you signed and that will give you a full understanding of your responsibility. I would always sign as POA, otherwise, I am stating indirectly unless stated differently in the contract, that I will assume responsibility for the payment. Did your mother sign the contract, I don't see alzheimers as a diagnosis, maybe I missed that, in any event if no diagnosis of alzheimers, I would think mom's and your signature as POA added makes it a usual way to handle this. It would say that mom knows what she is doing and you are helping her do it, and you make the payments on her behalf as POA. If she has dementia, she probably would not be in assisted living. In any event, I'd read what I signed and find out what I agreed to by signing the document. If you find that the terms are not to your liking, get the lawyer who helped you with POA to intervene.

When they said they wanted to make sure they would be paid, what they meant was that they weren't trusting your moms funds to cover her care. When you sign as a POA, you are signing as an agent managing the financial affairs of the patient. When you sign your own name, you are taking financial responsibility.

I hope this was a recent occurrence. You should see an attorney immediately and get that signature set aside. They had you sign it under duress, I bet. Most likely verbally implying that they would not place your mother unless you signed. These are highly irregular business practices, they're only doing it because they think they can get away with it.

If you want to keep your mom there, get an attorney, attorney, attorney, and be prepared for some education and cold shouldering. If you have other choices, you may want to begin making arrangements to move her. If the ALF is willing to strong-arm you like that, there at ministration is sleazy and you better watch out.

ALWAYS write POA after your name no matter what they say.