[honeychile]

Legal Eagles - how much does a Living Trust help? That's the way we're thinking of going. All of my mother's money would be put in trust, and her expenses paid out from there.

Just as an FYI: as you all know, I'm a geriatric counselor. It's a small business, but the largest of its sort in the county. It's also the least expensive, as we do a volume. The cost of keeping someone in their own home with a live-in companion for one month (30 days) is $3,450. Add the regular home expenses (property/school taxes, utilities, food, etc), and you can see that living a long life isn't all that it's cracked up to be. You'd be surprised how many people will try to get along with only 4 hours a day, when they truly need a live-in. It can get pretty discouraging.