I know there will be legal issues involved so probably best to deal with a elder lawyer and real estate lawyer. Mama has DLB dementia with Lewy Body.Needs 24/7. Doesn't want to go but I can't continue to stay with her indefinitely. And if nothing else right now I need to check on my place soon. The facility is near my home and close to her sister's also. Talking 5 or 6 miles. We have been talking about it in between delusions and her wanting to bring deceased relatives into the mix. She has appts lined up to get a diagnosis with the Neuro and she is receiving in home care OT and PT.I will be getting some respite starting next week. 4 hrs. Maybe 2x a week. Working around Dr's apps. Hers and mine.Transition will not happen quickly but Im at least starting it.
Should you keep her bank accounts open? Yes. As long as she is alive, her bank accounts are hers, even if you have the authority to manage the funds for her.
I'm wondering why you expect there will be legal issues.
I wouldn't change anything unless she has multiple accounts and you want to consolidate by moving money into one account for simplicity of managing it.
Before closing any accounts, make sure she doesn't have any automatic payments deducted from that account. Often insurance payments are made by automatic deduction. I lost a life insurance policy I had been paying into for years, because I forgot about it when I moved to another state and changed bank accounts. The account was closed and several months passed before I was notified of the lapse in payment. Because I didn't let them know I had moved either.
If the house is in her name then the money from the sale of the house needs to be deposited into her own accounts. In my case the house is in a trust and I am the trustee. I opened an account in the name of the trust, and that's where the money will need to go when her home is sold.
When her money is almost gone, you will need to apply for Medicaid. I would consult with an elder lawyer.
Meanwhile now I wait on her more hrs out of the day and she never even thinks to give me any money but used to say well you're getting the house. Nope. Nope. Nope.
I don't want any more regrets. There will always be some. With someone you can never do enough for.
As my LOs reached very senior years I carefully consolidated accounts so that there was just one checking and one savings. I created access portals to make the banking management easier and faster. I made portals and submitted my PoA paperwork to her asset managers.
Whether or not you should do this depends on the variables that exist in your Mom's case.
All of this is for her care and I haven't been keeping records. Now I will start saving every single solitary receipt of her money. If and when Medicaid looks back 5 year or more-all kinds of things come up. I've have tried to keep my finances as separate as possible but she is really funny about her money.
I know I have to do this and I know there will be hell to pay for any move I make on her behalf but what else is new. I just want her to be somewhere safe and taken care of.
It's a lot of foot work, paperwork etc.
This is another subject but I have someone who can come and stay with her a few hours a week. My respite. But I usually end up just using it to do errands and go to the grocery store and check on my home. It is a relief even if she gets puffed up about it. lol