<prompt> Human: hey reddit, i really need some help.my mom got in some trouble in january and was incarcerated last week. i have had to cover her bills on top of my own bills, put money on her commissary account, pay her attorney, etc.as if this wasnt bad enough, i found out last night that her house is in foreclosure. i understand that you have about a year before the bank completely takes it over and puts it up for auction, but after doing a quick google search this morning, i see that there was already an auction a couple of weeks ago. it doesnt say that it was sold.so... what the fuck do i do?! she is already trying to sign power of attorney over to me asap so that i can cover her bills while she is in jail. i dont really know how any of this works and on top of all this other stuff, she has a 90k hospital bill from a two week stay in november. please please please any advice would be so greatly appreciated! i dont have any siblings and it has always just been my mom and i. i am so lost right now and trying to juggle all of this while working a full time high stress job.if it helps, we live in ohio but she is incarcerated in kentucky. EDIT please stop saying shitty things about my mom. Im having a hard enough time right now and she is my world. Your opinion on her is unnecessary I came here for FINANCIAL advice not how you feel about my mom thanks!Another edit not trying to pay her medical bills I was just throwing that in there. She has an attorney. We are on the same phone bill so Im paying all of that now and her electric just for this month til we move her things out and payments on a loan she took out to pay the attorney. Just trying to help not fuck up my future. Assistant: Regarding power of attorney; make sure you sign your name and add attorney in fact when dealing with any bills. Never just sign your name. Do not commingle your money with hers. Always get two separate receipts. And please make sure you have your own attorney review any and all documents before signing them. While you may think and she may insist it is a simple PoA shes granting you could turnout to be far more damaging. Human: thank you. i still dont even really know what the PoA is. i get the gist, but i am so confused. any more advice regarding PoA?  <response>: That you have the power to handle all her legal andor financial transactions while she is incarcerated. And other than having a attorney review it before signing I would advise you to look at the following Im concerned with a few things:What bills is she asking you to take over on her behalf? The house is already gone however the mortgage company can and will come after her for the difference of what was owed and what was received through auctionMedical bills: let her make a payment arrangement with them or she can just default on them. You should not be saddled, at 24, with 80k of someone elses debt.Attorney: if she cant afford one let her get a public defender Please take a minute to to step back, take all the emotion out of this and then make a decision. If you were making payments to save the house thats one thing but what is paying on her medical bills going to do?If she did not feel it necessary to inform you that the house was auctioned off I tend to view her PoA step as suspectHow long does she have on her current sentence? Here in NY we have e-courts where you can search for criminal and civil cases solely by defendants last name. Perhaps you should see if her state has the same and start poking around 