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I assume your concern about creditors would be yours, rather than your mother's? Without prying, do you have a legitimate reason to be concerned (i.e., do you have significant debt, are you in default on your obligations, etc.)? I'm not prying - it's none of my business, but it is a factor to be considered if that's your concern.
Lastly, having worked in elder law firms and knowing that there there are such a range of protections, I would raise your concerns with one of the bankers, a manager perhaps, and find out specifically how potential situations of concern would be handled. If there's a risk factor for your creditors' access, you might want to talk to ask the banker for another workable option, or talk to an elder law attorney to find out a better method. Believe me, it's worth the cost to get a professional involved now.
Some communities have free legal advice for seniors, and there are also legal aide societies that might be able to help you. In my state, there's an elder law organization which provides excellent free advice to seniors.
Good luck in resolving this issue.
A more practical solution would be to have your mom cremated (if she's agreeable to that). Then, you personally can take them or ship them to the cemetery. They can be buried in the plot just as a casket would be. In fact, many deeds for plots now contain the number of caskets, plus number of cremated remains that can be buried in them.
If your mother has a lot of assets and investments, you'd do well to visit with an attorney who specializes in elder law. It would be well worth a few hundred dollars for the consultation if you're trying to protect a sizable estate. If your mom has very little money and other assets, caregiver14 is right, but I'd still get the POA taken care of. I did one on legalzoom and I think it cost less than $20. It was later looked at by an attorney who said it was just as good as what she would have done.
As someone already pointed out (but I'll repeat because it's VERY important), whenever you sign anything with your own signature for your mom, be sure to include "as POA for" and your mom's name. A hospital, nursing home, surgicenter, etc, will ask you to sign as the "responsible party." DON'T do it. Sign FOR your mom. If your finances are already a mess, you sure don't want them made worse by someone coming after you for your mother's medical debt.
a. As a joint account holder. When you do this, this becomes your account as well as hers, subject to your creditors and such.
b. As POA, which means that you have power over the account but that these are not your funds.
There are benefits to having your name on the account. First, it makes transactions seamless and gives you online access to accounts. Second, it allows you to withdraw the money after your mother dies, so avoids probate. The POA ends at the time of death and funds have to go through probate, handled by the executor/trix of the will. Probate can be avoided by having the name of the account with "payable on death" (POD) chosen. I'm not sure if a POD is possible if you aren't on the account. Someone else probably knows. That would be nice, since it would take away the inconveniences of having POA instead of your name on the account.