I have POA. I pay all her bills. Mom feels she should be able to spend her money on what ever she wants. I try to explain that we are not in that position to afford to shop for clothes when I am spending 200 a month to store her clothes. Mom was a compulsive shopper and now that she is feeling better she is wanting. I'm still trying to close up her house so I can sell it. I am alone in this war w no support from anywhere.
But if mom has maybe under 150/200, then if she lives long enough, she will run out of $ and need to apply for Medicaid. Which means a pretty detailed look back of where all her $ went for 5 years. Gifting to family will likely show up and mom although qualified for medicaid will be ruled ineligible for medicaid to pay for whatever amount of $ gifted to family. A transfer penalty will happen and for an extra fun part of this...penalty is by days ineligible based on your states Medicaid reinbursement rate for room & board. So for TX the rate is $ 155.00 a day which means a 50K penalty is 322 days which someone (like you!) will have to rprivate pay for their stay. They are already impoverished to qualify for Medicaid so have no $ anymore.
If the latter scenario is what your up against, start planning on how to maximize moms $. The $ 200 a mo storage is a real drain IMHO. So the unit is just filled with stuff I'd bet?
What about doing this......turn moms unit into Macy's? Yiu gomthrough and pack clothes that she will need for the future within reason. Then Set a couple of dates within a month or two and tell family to come & shop. That is their last gift from her. Empty that unit out & give 30 day notice.
$ 2,400 annual storage plus whatever the house is costing adds up. Do you personally have the purse to pay for all this? And for years without an issue? If so, then great but if your feeling a pinch in your purse already, cut your losses. There probably no reasoning with mom in all this, so try to be as pragmatic as you can.
Good luck & keep meticulous track on all receipts.
And, yes, of course, she can buy presents. Do you anticipate her being on Medicaid in the next five years? If so, I personally would keep careful records and spend no more than $25 a person so as not to run into trouble with Medicaid rules.