Q: Grandmother has dementia. Been in nursing home for 5 years. Her money is gone due to hospital bills, nursing home and necessities she needs there as well as meds. Can my mom sell her belongings to pay for her continued care and hospital bills?  My uncles have threatened to sue her if she does. As well as demanded an account of where her money went as well as demanding to see the will that the lawyer has.  Can the sue her for selling her things to pay the hospital? And can they threaten to sue her if she doesn’t get the lawyer to turn over a copy if the will. They are claiming my mom has stolen my grandmother’s money. The apparently thought my grandparents were rich when my grandfather died and they were. They “feel” there should have been hundreds of thousands of dollars when he died. When in reality, there was less than $50,000. Nursing home and hospital/ doctor bills ate that. We provide her diapers and hygiene products gloves and snacks. Can they do this to my mom when they have provided little to no help?

A: If you are doing nothing wrong you shouldn’t have any worries. However, you do need to document these expenditures. Additionally, it would benefit you greatly to seek the advice of your attorney or an attorney versed in Medicaid law. You may need to apply for Medicaid benefits and an attorney can guide you on the process and at the same time prepare you on how to deal with these allegations. With all of these expenditures documented and organized all of your efforts will be accounted for. In the event the brothers find a lawyer who will file for an accounting, you will be able to deal with the issue before it goes to court.