I'm her DPOA, oldest daughter, and she lives with me now (sold her home 2 years ago and has a decent amount of funds). I lost my medical transcription job in December and now have a home care contract to care for her via her elder care attorney in my home. I'm in the process of selling my home (I'm 60 and owe $30,0000 on the mortgage yet) and today got a very good offer I feel I can't refuse. I want to take that money and purchase a fixer-upper HUD home (total cost $22,000) for which I'm told they need the money up front and right now before proceeding with that. I could not get hold of her lawyer today to present the question to him). I would certainly put the full amount back in mom's account ASAP. Would this in any way affect things with Medicaid down the road and is this do-able? I fully intend to keep mom (who has Alzheimer's) living with me as long as possible and hope to avoid Medicaid anyway if at all possible.
You mentioned that you have a home care contract to care for your mother which was prepared by her elder care attorney. That's an important document that everyone should consider whenever they are providing care to a family member. You had the foresight to put the contract in place, so that transfers of money to you would be documented and recognized in the future by Medicaid as payments for fair value.
By keeping your mom's attorney updated on what you need to do now with her money, you can get the advice you need to make the transactions work in her best interest.
Using the caregiver contract to structure payments for your work should protect your mother's Medicaid eligibility in the future. Getting legal advice on current practice in your jurisdiction can help you decide how to best structure the house purchase and give you peace of mind that the real estate transaction won't undo what you've already accomplished.
https://www.agingcare.com/articles/asset-limits-to-qualify-for-medicaid-141681.htm