Is a husband required to pay the nursing home bills and associated costs of care of his wife? (They are not on medicaid)

You should consult with an elder law attorney in your area. One source is www.naela.org where you can search for members of the National Academy of Elder Attorneys. The attorney you consult with can give you advice regarding the best way of paying for the wife's care. It may involve a guardianship. If you found this answer helpful, please consider clicking on the thumbs up symbol at the bottom. Disclaimer: Please note that this answer does not constitute legal advice, and should not be relied on since each situation is fact specific, and it is impossible to evaluate a legal problem without a comprehensive consultation and review of all the facts and documents at issue. This answer does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Generally, in Indiana each spouse is primarily responsible for their own debts, unless the spouse agreed or contracted to pay the debt. There are other rules that can come into play, that would allow creditors to seek money owed from another spouse if the spouse was ina far more financially superior position at the time medical treatment was sought. Any unpaid medical bills can always be claimed against an estate as well, which could impact what the spouse receives depending on how property is owned and the estate is setup.

This is going to be a very state specific issue. However, with the assets that you are describing he should not have to deplete his own resources to pay for her care. NAELA is a great resource for a referral to a qualified elder law attorney in your area. The practical question is if there is no POA who is controlling her assets and what process can be done to get access to those assets to pay for her care? You should have her documents reviewed by a local elder law attorney to opine about this issue. Another challenging issue is her location and the location of her principal assets. Your local courts may refuse to issue any orders over Florida property.