<prompt> Human: My dad was diagnosed with Alzheimers in October. In November he had pneumonia, which led to heart failure, and then a stroke. Now he is in nursing care and is supposed to be there for 3 weeks, but its looking more doubtful that this will be a short term stay. Even if it is, its inevitable with the alzheimers that he will end up back here eventually. He is on Medicare and has some sort of coverage with Regence. My mom has been told that after 20 days in nursing care she will have a copay of 161 per day that he is there. That is more than she makes in a day, let alone her personal expenses. So the next option is Medicaid, which she wlll have to drain her assets to qualify for that. If he has life insurance, savings, anything, they will take it. His SS income will be theirs. They will take his care and whatever else they can. We arent quite sure where it stands on if they can take the house; sounds like it has to be valued at over 500k, and being in the Seattle area, that seems inevitable if its not already there. Also my dad co-signed on my auto loan. He is also on my brothers checking account. Will they take these assets, too?What can my mom do to protect herself? She is too young to retire and must work if nothing else other than for the health benefits, but 55 is a difficult age to lose everything. She makes 38kyear pre tax. The house is on a half acre and can be split into another lot; should she sell the lot to get some money and also reduce the value of her home? What can we be doing to make sure she doesnt lose everything and becomes destitute at a relatively young age? What should we be looking into? Is there any hope financially for her or is shes just screwed out of anything theyve saved up?  <response>: You should consult with an Elder Care attorney specializing in this so that your mother legally keeps as much as she can. 