Need help in A&A for my mother

Hello,

My mother is in an ALF in Florida, and is spending down at about $1700 per month. Her total assets, including checking account, a few CDs, IRA, and cash value of life insurance policies are about $57,000-$58,000. She is almost 90, is blind, hard-of-hearing, and has limited mobility. After trying for two years to get my questions answered about the application process, I contacted my mother's congressman's office and spoke with a veterans' rep there. Since he cannot go into the ALFs to help with the application process, he put me in touch with an outside person who does.

Well, I should have known that it was too good to be true. My mother, plus a couple of my relatives met with the outside person last week. Meeting went great. We were all very happy. Then, on Monday, the outside person called me, and wants to put $25,000 of my mother's money into an annuity to help her qualify for the A&A.

So we wouldn't be able to touch any portion of the annuity for at least a year. That puts my mother into a VERY precarious position if VA takes a long time to approve benefits. And if she's denied, she's also "out" $25,000.

Instead of the above, I'd prefer to get her name off some of her assets like the CDs (both her name and my name are on the CDs), and would like to gradually filter the money into her checking account as her assets continue to deplete. Is there any law against this? I had been reading on this board about the trusts and annuities, so it sounds like my preference is not permitted? Please advise.

I am an only child, and my husband has been unemployed for a year - will be beginning a new job soon. I went back to work last year, but had been out of the work force for 20 years, so I am back at entry level salary for my profession. We have a child with a mental disability who requires my presence. In other words, time, responsibilities, and our income do not permit me to travel to Florida to help my mother. We might at some point be able to help her financially, but not yet.

I've heard various things regarding assets at my mother's age - "magic figure" of $39,000 or $30,000. If that's so, probably $25,000 would need to be repositioned. But I want that done to be advantageous to HER. She's almost 90, so an annuity that we can only touch on the anniversary dates, and remove only 10 percent per year is NOT an option for us.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!