My mom is 93 and in failing health. She has fallen twice in the past, and recuperated after 100 days in a nursing home. I've lived in her house with her since 1995. Recently, I've had to enlist a live-in attendant to care for her. What are the rules governing house ownership if she has to go into a nursing home? I have her health-care proxy.

Your mother can take legal steps that will preserve...

 2010 Newsday Ask the Expert Nov 5

Congress is making it a lot tougher to shield assets in order to qualify for government nursing-home coverage. That means more families could face huge bills and wiped-out inheritances.

Congress seems determined to wipe out welfare for the well-to-do -- the practice of seniors artificially impoverishing themselves so they can qualify for government help with nursing-home expenses.