What advice can you give me about adopting a 5 year-old Papillon dog?

My brother learned that a family is moving away and can’t take their 5 year-old Papillon female with them. I’ve been wanting a dog for several years, mostly for my mother’s health (but for myself also).

What do I need to know? I had a 16 week-old Miki boy once, but I only had him for a week.

As far as I know, the Papillon is friendly and house-trained. Is there something I need to do to make the transition into our family easier? We have a large extended family that we see often (the dog should be here on Friday, when about 25 members of our family are getting together). Will this freak the dog out?

I think my mother will want to change the dog’s name (her name is Cappuccino). Is it bad to change a 5 year-old dog’s name?

Another concern is that it’s a female dog? Is it difficult to clean up after a female dog? What is it like dealing with her period?

How do I learn what the dog has been trained for already? Besides talking to her old family (they are leaving tomorrow or the day after, I think, leaving little time to talk to them about it).

Do I need to get adoption papers or health records?

Any and all advice about getting a female dog from another family would be appreciated.