Can I sell my Mother's home with a POA?

A POA can only carry out the wishes of the grantor. This is where it can get sticky when the grantor is confused, so get an attorney to guide you through the sale of the property. If Medicaid is in the picture, this can be a complex issue that prevents closing the sale.

Definitely see an elder lawyer. You may be able to save the house and the car and get medicaid to pay for her care. You would be surprised how quickly the proceeds will disappear, and then what?

Yes i agree an elder law attorney would be a good idea. You would need to see if the POA gives you broad powers or limited powers. The POA should state that you are able to transact real estate transactions on her behalf. Some POAs give only limited power such as check writing, bill payment, but not more complex dealings. Check your POA to see exactly how it was structured. Consulting an attorney will help you plan for the long haul and not just short term. Others are correct, the money from home will go quickly if mom needs nursing home or round the clock care. Also remember if Medicaid is in her future no gifting of money is allowed 5 yrs prior to applying. Just some things to keep in mind.

Yes, if the language provides that you can do so. Read the POA document carefully to see what authority you have and the basis for activation of POA authority.

Wrong wrong wrong. For god sakes if the attorney says put her in guardianship all the money will go to pay attorney fees and not to your mothers care. Stay out of probate court! I had a POA...was told to get guardianship and it cost 200 thousand dollars and took 5 years because my sister objected. Yes you can sell the house and car and put the money in an account that is used only for her care.

I must have missed something. I don't recall reading anything about guardianship.

Read your POA. Mine gives me the right to sell and buy. The realtor has a copy. My SIL started her Dad on Medicaid. Once the house sold, Medicaid stopped and she had to spend down the proceeds of the house then pickup Medicaid. That wasin PA. My POA is in NJ.

Depends on many factors. All POA powers are different. Is it a Durable POA , does your parent agree or have dementia, does she have a life estate on the house ? You have to get 3 real estate written estimates and a paid appraisal of the house first.it has to be sold or bought for fair market value minus a realtors fee and minus any concessions if necessary. The money then goes into a trust bank acct. Every penny used must be documented with also keeping a receipt. If its for home care you can draw up a caregivers contract and pay yourself if your parent needs full time care, or You can put it into an irrevocable trust and not touch for 5 years so medicaid cant get it.you could also rent her house for her care. Keep perfect records in case you do need medicaid down the road. Also keep a daily journal of her care, youll need it all! I just applied and out of 5 years they questioned 5 lousy checks, 3 were under $50! I never thought my mom would live this long. Oh the boxes and containers of paperwork, journals, bills and all is overwhelming my entire spare room, no lie.

If the house is getting sold under fair market value (usually the current tax assessor value) within family or friend of the family, I would really encourage you to get an appraisal done. It needs to be done by a licensed & registered appraiser for however it's done in your state. The Realtor comps is terrific but is not a substitute for what the appraiser report does. Appraiser document is legal so if there is any blowback from family later on, or from medicaid, having an appraisal can be quite good to have.

Why for medicaid? Well If mom should use up all her spend down from the sale of her home & car & applies for Medicaid, and if there was a wide difference between the assessor value & the sale value, Medicaid could consider the difference "gifting" if the house was sold to family or friend of family.

If the house has decades of delayed maintenance & difference from assessor value is looking like its going to be substantial - like more than 30% - you might also want to get an inspection done. Again by one licensed & registered with the state. Both inspection & appraisal seem to base cost on square footage above a set minimum fee. Maybe run $ 300 - 500 each.

Reverse roles is totally spot on about keeping records. If you live in a humid area, or in a flood risk area, you may want to put paperwork into 2 gallon Ziplock freeze bags & then into their storage bins.

I live in NJ. I have spoken to Medicaid regarding my Moms house. Nothing was said about 3 appraisals or having it appraised separately. My realtor did a search on house like Moms to see what they sold for. I live in a depressed county so will be lucky if I sell with the work needed. Medicaid told me as long as I get a reasonable amount, they will except. Call Medicaid in ur area and run things by them.

I live in PA and my POS specifically said buy or sell any real property. I sold my uncles house and the deed was titled in his name. I did not get an attorney involved.

I just want to note, as above, although you may be able to sell, be careful. Once the owner of the property dies the vultures come out for their share $
This is why our attorney, and my mothers trust, stated 3 appraisals to make sure no one was cutting a deal to anyone . Just fyi.

In Florida, you can keep the house (homestead exemption) and still qualify for Medicaid. Check with a CO attorney to see if there is any way to keep the home. If Mom has assets, I strongly suggest using those assets to pay for a private CNA or HHA who will give your Mom lots of attention (1 on 1 care) because in nursing homes, they have 12 to 13 patients for each nurse. Diapers do not get changed right away. Hungry patients are ignored if they don't like the food or cannot chew. Transportation to and from doctor appointments is NOT covered by Medicaid, so you have to save enough money to cover what Mom might need -- hearing aid, eye glasses, transportation, etc. If you go the Medicaid route....they leave the patient with so little money that the patient cannot get a hearing aid or new glasses or even get their hair colored. I have POA for my Mom in Florida and I can do anything I want with her money -- keeping in mind that I have a fiduciary duty to do what is best for her. If I spend the money on a vacation for myself and leave her home alone, they will charge me with neglect and fraud. If Mom's income is too high, an elder care attorney will have to set up a qualified interest trust before she will qualify for Medicaid and that costs a few thousand dollars.....so unless you have the money for that make sure Mom does. Because of the 5 year look back period, assets cannot be gifted to children without disqualifying the parent from Medicaid. I am a paralegal in FL and I had to put my Dad in a nursing home, where he was ignored most of the time and served food that was not fresh and luke warm. I spent a lot of money bringing him kleenex (which nursing homes do not provide) and his favorite foods. Also had to buy a TV, hearing aid, mouth guard, new eyeglasses, and lots of medicine. He was not on Medicaid and could afford these things but since he refused to give anyone in the family POA....setting up an apartment for him to live in with a full time private nurse was not an option. So he suffered for 2 years and then had only 1 week of palliative care through hospice at the end. I will NEVER put my mother in a nursing home, even after the 5 year look back period is over (it has been 2 years since she transferred ALL her assets into my name). I live with her and do my best to care for her, and I have hired a private nurse to come work with her once a week to strengthen her legs and do the housework that I cannot do because of my own health problems. Medicaid should always be the last resort. If I am killed, my brother will put her in a home because he has no interest in being a caretaker. It all depends how much you love your parents. I love my mother more than I loved my father and for her, I am willing to do anything to make her life better. If my father had been less stubborn, did not exclude me completely from his LWT, and had given me POA he would have had a much better last 2 years of life.

I sold my mom's home with a POA. If we had waited it would have gone to pricey probate when she passed away a few months ago.

I don't need any help. please LEAVE US ALONE, this is r issues and we will deal with them... I could get into a family dispute over all this, we r going to let the POA deal with this. thanks for your advice, but now we will adle it.. please do not call private numbers and email me again..HellBeiL

What?

Depending on the state where the POA was granted and verbiage in the POA you most probably will be able to execute sale of both assets.
You DO need an attorney and investment counselor if Mom doesn't have one. The monies and tax implications need to have accounts in place need to be addressed up front. You most likely have something in place if you are paying her bills.
Go to the attorney who did the POA if possible. You also need to be sure healthcare proxy is in place and that you know about the Will filing so you don't have private issues later in CO.

First and foremost - It depends upon the wording of the POA.

I think a lot depends on the state you live in and your situation. Is there a family trust or do you have POA or both? As others have mentioned, a POA should spell out your rights. I just sold my parents' house. I am named Successor Trustee in their trust but I had to provide doctors' letters (2 for each parent) and notarized POA due to both of their financial incapacity. The title company required two letters for each and the rest of the documentation supported my ability to sign on their behalf. I did not consult an attorney although we do have a trust attorney who is handling the details of making me sole trustee. Interestingly my Dad never questioned how the house sold without his signature on anything (he has a brain tumor). Mom (dementia) just focuses on all the furniture that she hasn't had a chance to get (!).

I have POA for a friend of mine who is now in a memory care apartment. I intend to sell his condo and use the proceeds for his care. The POA form he filled out a couple of years ago gave me authority to handle everything financial and everything with his health care. I am also the executor of his estate and know what he wants done with any remaining assets. So, depending on what was marked on the POA form, you can have the authority to do this. I have used no attorneys and don't know why I would need to. If he runs out of money, he will have access to VA benefits, too. His AL facility will accept public financing after 18 months of being paid at his current higher rate. Any money I raise in disposing of his furniture and condo goes into his bank account to be used for his care. This does not seem complicated to me--no trusts, no trying preserve assets for others to have, no trying to get hide money for some other purpose.

Just because you have a document appointing you DPOA, if the person who signed the DPOA has not been declared incapacitated or voluntarily gives you access to his bank account, there is nothing you can do legally to pay that person's bills. Good thing I understand all our laws very well. The better you understand the laws, the easier it is to break the corrupt ones and never get caught. Apparently all the people who post answers here are thinking about everything much differently than I am. I am going to do what I think it best, not what the law tells me is best. Nursing homes do not take good care of people. Private CNAs, HHA, and nurses take good care of people. Why give your money to a nursing home if you have assets? Spend the assets for good care and let the government stick you in one of those Medicaid facilities that care only about the patient's money, not the patient's well being AFTER you are impoverished. Pay for private care....when you can't then it is time to apply for Medicaid, because with no assets left, your application won't get help up.

"Good thing I understand all our laws very well. The better you understand the laws, the easier it is to break the corrupt ones and never get caught"

"All the laws" - including every single state and federal statute? This is a clue to me that you don't know what you're talking about.

And knowing how to break laws and never get caught?

Pam called you out on another post; I agree. I've worked as a paralegal and known many who were qualified, some who were just average. Not one of them would brag as you did in another post and here about knowing how to "break the laws."

Your attitude is disgusting. If I knew who your employer is or was (if you really are employed and I'm not convinced of that), I'd notify that that you're posting online about knowing how to break the laws.

And though I doubt you work in the legal field, if you did, you're a discredit to the profession. And a LIABILITY to any employer.

And BTW, your "advice" on authority under a DPOA is WRONG!

Garden this person is getting just what they want conflict on the forum. I say we stop posting on their threads perhaps they will go somewhere else with their nonsense.

If anybody cares, in our family's case it was necessary to petition the court to sell her home against her wishes. It was approved, but the legal costs were indeed very high (certainly more than $10,000 total paid from her assets as is legal). Her assets paid for everyones lawyer bills. That would be your attorney, her attorney, maybe your sister's attorney...........If she does not object to the sale and is competent you can carry out the business of such a sale together.

Read the POA. It should have a clause granting you the rights to buy and sell property. If you don't see that clause, you don't have that power.

Two words=estate attorney

I gather Mom is in a LTC facility. I agree that you should read your POA to verify that you have authority to sell Moms house, and then yes, the sales $$ minus any realtor fees goes towards her care. Many NHs will wait for payment until the house is sold and mom will be medicaid pending on the NH census. I think the only lawyer you need is the one who draws up the sale of the house papers once it is determined that your POA covers it. A realtor, not a lawyer, or the business office at the home should be able to answer most of your concerns. I am in Massachusetts and the bottom line is Medicaid wants their money from the house sale before they start paying for Moms room and board. Also, your local tax assessor can tell you the value. I am going thru probate now and the figure I gave the court was the assessed value, not hiring 3 real estate appraisers. Usually when you sell a house, you want it valuated as the highest amount possible, but if it is all going to Medicaid, then the assessed value is sufficient. Almost as if you want the least possible sale price as opposed to the highest. I hope you know what I mean. Best wishes.

or maybe even less than the assessed value if there have been years of neglected maintenance, as has been mentioned on here. But my question is 1) re the life estate but also re the rental - my sil has mil's house that has the life estate on it that she's been renting out; if mil needs care was it being said that Medicaid could come back on the rental income from the house and want those proceeds?

Deb daughter, the NET rents are supposed to go to Medicaid. So if the house rents for $800, you deduct taxes, insurance, repairs and the net amount is what Medicaid wants. Usually rent income goes on a Schedule E with the income tax return. Failure to report the income can get very messy.