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My dad is 94 and many of you have seen his 'progression' here in this forum. Since covid started, he has had to move from assisted living to skilled nursing due to a downturn in his health. We have tried to get him to 2 different memory care facilities but was turned down by both because of his continuing medical needs. His dementia is worsening and he is unable to walk anymore -- he is confined to a wheelchair. He has not been in his house for over a year. It sits like it did since the day he went to the hospital a year ago in September, and was not able to return home. As guardian, I am responsible for keeping it maintained, although I haven't really done much except hire a yard service to maintain the yard. All his stuff is still there and there is no chance he will be able to move home. He is on self-pay at skilled nursing and has enough funds to last a while. I still pay all utilities on it plus property taxes and yard care. The house itself is paid for. I am very afraid of something happening to it. It is an old house. It sits back in the woods in a grove of very large fir trees. In talking to my guardianship attorney this week, she suggested looking into selling it. We are concerned about what the 'basis' might be, however, and if it is going to be too large a tax bill, we might hang on to it. My dad still asks to move home which can't happen. To sell his house would send him into a spiral and because of the guardianship, he will receive copies of all legal papers. This may be more than I can do emotionally and I'm just not sure what to do.

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Ask the attorney if he has to see the papers, you may not have to show them to him. It really sounds like it's time to sell. Another possibility is to rent it out, but that brings a whole new set of problems. Try to get help from friends and family to deal with the contents of the house. I have helped several people with their downsizing.
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Babs75 Nov 2020
The attorney is all behind us selling the house but the capital gains thing is what I really need to pin down. Dad has an attorney who had agreed to stay on with him until after the house situation was settled but I found out yesterday that he has sent a resignation to my attorney. He wants her to handle the whole thing. She found that a bit odd since, if dad gets a copy of the legal papers saying I want to sell the house, he will need some legal representation as he will no doubt contest.
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If your mom lived in that house, too, and has died, your dad's adjusted cost basis is the value of the house as of the date of her death. You should have had an appraisal done on the house after your mom's death to get that value, and you still can get one. Just be aware it won't be inexpensive. This is assuming your folks held the house as joint tenants with right of survivorship, or JTWROS.

If your dad was the only owner, then the cost basis will be the selling price minus the price he paid for it. Depending on how long that has been, it could be a substantial tax bill.

If you inherit the house instead, the cost basis for taxes will be the value of it as of your dad's date of death. In other words, if he dies, and you sell the house soon after, the taxes will be only on the difference between the value on his date of death and the selling price -- very little tax.

Example: My folks bought their house for $45,500 in 1968 as JTWROS. My dad died in 2018, and the house was appraised at $1.7 million (I know -- crazy California real estate). If I sell the house now because my mother has been out of it for over a year, she'd pay taxes on the difference between the $1.7 million and the sales price -- likely now around $2 million. (See: crazy California real estate)

If my brother and I instead inherit that house tomorrow (for example), it'll appraise for $2 million and we'd pay taxes on the difference between that and what it sells for.

Hope that makes sense. Bottom line, you need an appraisal of the house as of your mom's date of death if she lived there, too, and your dad inherited her half as survivor. You might as well get that done if you haven't.
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Babs75 Nov 2020
I did find the deed information at his house last week. The CPA wants to know the value of the house as of 1992 when dad was added to the deed (it belonged to his second wife before they were married). I have the deed but no value as I can't even find a property tax statement back that far. I have reached out to the county but they have not answered me. Then I found the deed that was issued after she died. It came with a real market value statement so at least that's a start. That's where we stand. We emptied one of the bathrooms and I have begun boxing up financial files and figuring out what I can shred. Gonna be a slow process.
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You need to immediately make sure your insurance knows that the house is empty. Most policies do not cover unoccupied structures, we had to get another company to cover the house while it set empty awaiting selling. There are concerns about vandalizing an empty home.

Do you have to show him the papers if you have Guardianship?
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Babs75 Nov 2020
I called his insurance company and they said as long as all of his stuff is still there it is fine. They said that empty houses are what they are concerned about because they can invite trouble. I then called my own insurance agent from a different company and he said in our state that it is OK as long as someone checks on the house periodically, which I do.
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Sounds like it definitely time to sell the house but the biggest headache is going to be clearing it out particularly if he has lived there for years. Hope you remembered conversations where he mentioned where he like to hide things because there will be stashes of hidden items. My Mom (lived thru the depression) and didn't really trust banks. I had to go thru every single book she had - and she was an avid reader. Flip all the pages (that got me the singles, fives and tens) but cutting open the covers got the "big" stuff. About 7K actually. Had a friend and I helped her clean out her Mom's place. I never remember having any baked goods at that house but there was a lovely set of canisters on the counter. Couldn't believe the amount of money we found in the flour and sugar canisters. I say this to remind you that it may be more to cleaning out Dad's house than you thought. This is time consuming so start now and be thorough. My Dad was partial to storing his funds in old paint cans, lol. Gotta love this stuff because you can't make it up.
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VeronicaJo Nov 2020
You are so right. Hoarding can be a fact of life with dementia and my MIL was the family historian and keeper of old things as well. Although her condo appeared neat and tidy, it took us almost six weeks to clear out the two bedroom unit. She kept every piece of plastic, aluminum foil, and takeout container. She also saved every “free gift” she ever received form a charity soliciting a donation (and there were hundreds). Mixed in with all that were sentimental (and some valuable) pieces of jewelry and significant tax and insurance papers. We had to go through everything at least twice.
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When we sold my mom's condo and later MIL's house it was a relief. However I was stunned both times when neighbors came on like vultures wanting the places for half price for themselves or relatives of theirs. One called me up after my mom died, and despite the fact they knew my mom and she was their next door neighbor for 2 decades, this boor could not even offer sympathy or condolence, just started right in how some in-laws of hers from out of town wanted it. Why didn't the in-laws call my realtor if they wanted it so bad? Someone my realtor found ended up buying it. Another neighbor tried to bully my realtor into "holding" the condo until they could sell theirs. My MIL's neighbor tried to tell my husband the house was worth half of what he ended up getting for it. Then when the home went up for sale someone used it to order cable equipment. All these boorish people and the maintenance of the homes was enough to want us to sell the homes. It was a relief when the properties sold.
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An unoccupied house is an "attractive nuisance". Too many worries, high insurance and possibility of attracting squatters, homeless or teenage parties etc. Best to sell ASAP. Don't worry about a demented person wanting to "go home". Home is their comfort mantra. It is not necessarily the home where they last lived. Also as it is not possible for your dad to ever return you are holding onto to an illusion. Best that profit from house be spent on his care. At his age there is no capital gains tax and as he is living, no inheritance tax. There will be property tax settlement, broker's fee, and some other expenses when sold. All that paid from sale price.
I dealt with sale of deceased , unmarried aunt's house. Much worry and tension until house sold. Up to that point my cousins and I responsible for any problems concerning house! Sad to see it go(family gathering place), but glad to be free of the worry!
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I would get permission from the court and sell the house using your Conservatorship. Maybe you can fib a little about the papers he sees if he has a fit, but one way or the other seems to me to be the best move.

After years of elder care adventures, Both my folks FINALLY went into assisted living in 2017 leaving me with 5 acres and a nasty rundown house full of stuff. I also had Conservatorship. No way was I going to mess around fixing the place up. It would have taken thousands of dollars and not really increased the value very much.

I was only surviving kid, 60 plus years old and 3 states away.

I cleaned out the personal belongings, paperwork, nasty stuff from the fridge, 40 trash bags from the house and garage to the dump, left the old ratty furniture and sold it as is. The land was valuable so it sold for a good price right away.

The money allowed me to keep them in a very nice place and later memory care for dad after mom died. Dad died just last month. Using the house funds I spent over $200K since 2017 for their care.

We get to a point where we can’t let the dementia over rule common sense decisions. I think you’re there.
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PrivateCitizen Oct 2020
You are wise! I am looking at selling my own property as I age (71 with medical issues and limits) no family, no kids, and can't maintain a thing myself. An older house in the country always needs upgrades, fixes, new roof, etc... endless yardcare. I seriously am at the point I will just stay... just croak from here, and let my fiduciary take over the sale and dispersal of all items. (Plan ahead and give away special items while I am still cognizant) If we had no 'coronavirus mania' going on deciding to sell and move away would have been a lot easier!! Now it is an enormous hurdle to even 'shop' for a small condo, apt, or plan for assisted living any distance from where I live.. There are millions of boomers like me, aging with few family, or none, to help... I can SEE why elderly just want to stay put and not bother to move or change, less motivation the mor sluggish we get.
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It would be a big mistake to think your Dad can go back to the house. I know he may talk about it, but dementia and memory loss make it hard for one to return home, or even think they could. I wouldn't mention it. The person could just get more confused, as s/he may not even remember once going back took place. Sets one up for leaving the home when no one else is around, getting lost or more confused. Change is difficult for people with dementia, and not taken well at all. It may just be a big mistake, and then you may have to place him in a home again. A year is a long time to be empty. Start as others have mentioned, one room at a time. Get help. Donate, pass on "stuff" to other family members if they want anything, It actually can be done. I'm not a big person at 4'10", and was 79 at the time, taking care of my 250 lb 6' husband. When I found a place for him, an apartment for me, arranged for movers to pack, donate, put in storage, and clear out the house, I did all that within 1 month, myself, no help. There are movers who will do all I mentioned,
A Place for Mom provided me NO CHARGE, name of 3 movers who do all the above mentioned donate, pack, store, move hubby's stuff into his room at assisted living. It wasn't any more expensive than if I had other movers just "move " to just one location. It was a big help to me. They took a few of my items to estate sale, as well. My husband was not in memory care at the time, still home, but they would have gone to facility if I needed them to. The company name was Smooth Transitions, "your single solution for senior moves".
Good luck. Make up your mind, get it done, then be free of worries of how you will do it. Let other's help.
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I was made POA for a married couple friends of mine in 2013. The wife had frontal temporal dementia, the husband short term memory issues that kept him from processing the changes in his wife, who was the chief organizer in their relationship. It took me a long time to convince him it was time to move to the memory care apartment I had found for them, but when she became incontinent and started to wander at night and needed 24 hour care, I finally convinced him and they moved there in May, 2015. They were never coming back to their two bedroom condo with a two car garage. The wife lived to the end of October, 2015 as her mind was just shutting down and she could no longer swallow food.
I began going through all their stuff to decide what I should do. I had antique buyers come to buy some of the old antique furniture. I had native American friends of theirs come to take whatever other furniture they could use--for free. I moved some of their family heritage stuff--old photos, etc, to my house to eventually get to a relative. Then had the carpets cleaned, some damaged windows replaced and put it on the market. That took 2 1/2 years. Low value housing was in great demand and the second couple who saw it bought it. All the money went directly to the husband's bank account and helps pay for his costs. The day of their move, a friend took them out for breakfast in a nearby town, then to have their nails done. During this time, we were moving their furniture to their memory care apartment and arranged it just like they had it in their condo. Everything was familiar and when the reluctant-to-move husband saw his favorite recliner facing his same tv with the couch in the same place and the same pictures on the wall, he sat down with a sigh to relief and never said a word about living in a different place.
I never told him all I was doing to deal with their condo and I made sure any money I got went right to their bank account and never took a cent for myself. It was a lot easier this way and they had given me this authority, so I used it. I was retired and had the time and I loved giving this service to my friends.
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PrivateCitizen Oct 2020
What a wonderful and loving thing you have done! I'd want you in MY life!! Just having a miracle friend like you was such a blessing for them... the more I read these stores of changing living spaces to meet needs makes me realize we have to plan and prepare, at least be ready with making decisions when needed.
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Imho, you could speak to an elder law attorney.
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Bab75;

Long time, no rest for the weary! What will you do with all your free time and space in your head when he passes on??? ;-)

I won't be able to post everything in one go, but there are many issues that were brought up by others and you. Before getting into details, definitely work with those who are qualified to discuss these issues, such as tax preparer, EC attorney, the court. In particular there is concern about what the insurance contact told you - that's covered in the "details" (the devil is in them!!!)

Yup, now that I am ready with responses, I'm going to break out my replies as replies to this post, as follows, so as to not exceed max and make it easier to keep all categories separated and easier to reference:

House maintenance
Selling house vs landlord
Deed/inheritance/cost basis
Insurance
Court/Taxes
Inheritance

As for MC:
"We have tried to get him to 2 different memory care facilities but was turned down by both because of his continuing medical needs. His dementia is worsening and he is unable to walk anymore -- he is confined to a wheelchair."

This is odd that they won't accept him, but perhaps it's because he wasn't moved to MC soon enough (not your fault!) If he had moved to MC before more medical issues, perhaps he could have stayed, but if many medical issues have popped up, they likely won't want to deal with it. The bottom line would be impacted!

I'm sure there are also those places who would request you move out of MC as well, if too many medical issues cropped up. I was concerned about this, given progression will lead to more and more care needed. Mom is finishing year 4, has been in a wheelchair now for maybe a year, possibly less. Recent discussion with them (she had a stroke earlier this month) is that she can stay to the end, no need to move to NH!!! YAY! The down side is her "rent" covers up to 1 hour of personal care. That will likely cost us, at some point. The sad part is that they charge a full hour if she exceeds the 1 hour, even though it might only be 10 min! I wish they could do it in 1/4 hour increments. It will likely still be less expensive than a NH.
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disgustedtoo Oct 2020
House maintenance:

"I am responsible for keeping it maintained, although I haven't really done much except hire a yard service to maintain the yard."
and
"I went over this weekend and turned the heat back on to 60 deg. I had left it off all summer. His house is old and I don't think it has much insulation because the furnace seems to run all the time. But I guess that's better than frozen pipes."

Someone else mentioned it, but I will say it too - get it winterized. It will cost a bit, but the savings (and worries reduced) should offset that! This place I bought had been winterized as it was unoccupied. If your location gets colder in winter, the heat savings will be great! It also eliminates worries about freezing pipes.

If you don't want to winterize, get maintenance on the heating system. It could be running inefficiently if it hasn't been cleaned in a while.

When considering cleaning the heating system, also have the vent/chimney checked/cleaned. If there is no cap on it, have that put on too - it will keep "critters" out. When I replaced the woodstove they had here with a pellet stove, I asked about the clean out (area that collects all the ash that isn't expelled - should be cleaned yearly!) When we opened it, not only was it not clean, it had a dead squirrel in it!

Minimal upkeep and "fixing" might increase sale value. If the exterior of the house needs to be painted (probably too late in the season for that), plan for that next year, if it isn't sold soon. Patching/painting inside can "spruce" it up a bit - clear out the stuff first, so you can fully assess what repairs might need to be done. Appraisal might identify other needs, such as electrical upgrades might be needed, new heating system, insulation, etc. IF appraiser thinks it might be more of a tear down and rebuild, obviously you won't want to do any of these. These issues can be deducted from the value if you have a buyer who wants to fix it up.

If you are *really* concerned about the trees, you can get an estimate to have them removed. If the potential is tear down, skip that!
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Since you write there is no chance for your dad to move back, do whatever causes the least stress for YOU.

If you have siblings, I would ask someone to take the lead on cleaning out the house. (This will need to be done eventually anyway). If you choose the fussiest/most headstrong sibling for this difficult task, there will be less fussing later (complaining that you had not completed this process and thus deprived them of quick receipt of their portion).

Home prices and interest rates are favorable now.
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HVsdaughter Oct 2020
"...no chance for your dad to move back, do whatever causes the least stress for YOU." AMEN. No one knows the ENTIRE situation better than you. And you and your health and well-being matter, too.
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When my parents were no longer going to live in their house, my sister and I sold it and put the money in their trust account, from which their nursing home expenses were paid. The house was in excellent condition but not in an area in which it would be likely to appreciate in value--other properties for sale in that area take a long time to sell. The next-door bought it and is using it as a rental property. Neither my sister nor I had any desire to keep the house, because we don't live near the area nor have a desire to do so.

I figured that a house generates expenses while securities in the trust fund generate income, so it was an easy decision.
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What is the likelihood that he will ever be able to return to the house? Even to look at it. Probably not likely at all. Legal papers could be set up to be mailed to your own address since you are guardian for a reason - his memory is gone. Do you have other mail sent to him at facility or to your own home? Not likely if he wouldn't know what to do with the mail anyway.

The house is wasting away and likely to depreciate in value the longer it sits. The proceeds from the house could be used to pay for his facility care and possibly mitigate capital gains.

With certain taxes varying state to state, you need advice from those who know the answers.
You might ask a tax pro about selling in in 2021 so that any capital gains tax would be offset by paying facility care out of the house money in 2021. Capital gains from a property held more than a year are taxed at a lower rate (so he's already had the house longer than that). If you're thinking about selling the house for less than fair value, that could come back to bite you if he finally runs out of money and needs a Medicaid bed - so an elder atty could explain that part to you.

So my suggestion is talk to elder atty - he may have all the answers about asking price versus market value. He may also have the answer about capital gains being mitigated by paying facility care out of the house money. If not, then see the tax pro. This should give you enough info to decide what to do.
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Do NOT sell your father's home! Why would you want to distress him like that. Put yourself in his situation. It can WAIT!!!!
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Get legal advice from an attorney and do you know if he is a candidate for hospice? The MC's that I know accept hospice patients, as long as they don't require IV's.
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speak with an elder attorney and they can help you get things figured out for the house, etc.  All bills should be coming out of your "fathers" monies, NOT yours.  And even though it will be hard, you can take 1 or 2 hours a day and start cleaning out the house (old papers, any food, old medicines, etc)  put in boxes things that can either be donated (pots/pans) or put them in a box for yard sale stuff (if you want to do that).  If you know that he will never be coming home, you can even donate furniture, bigger stuff or you take if you want.  but start preparing the house now to be sold.  You can (once cleaned up/out) either paint the walls yourself or hire someone to paint them to give them a fresher look.  clean the carpets......but all in time.  IF/when you sell the house, use that money to open an account (an elder attorney can help with this also) and deposit the house money in there to pay out monthly for his care wherever he might be.  Do NOT put it into your account....it must be kept separate.  Either way if you keep the house and he passes.......at some point I would think (not 100% sure -elder attorney would know) that you would need to pay some kind of inheritance tax or whatever.  Do you have a really good friend that could be with you when sorting thru your fathers stuff?  Wishing you luck.
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disgustedtoo Oct 2020
Inheritance tax was already on very high amounts and was increased. I don't think that is an issue, it is the cap gains. IF held onto until he passes, the cost basis would likely change, which might be beneficial, BUT over time if there are large maintenance costs and taxes, what would the gain/loss actually be?

The feds might levy an estate tax (paid from the proceeds, not those inheriting) and the state might also come with hand out for their share.

Definitely use a separate account for the proceeds of the sale. They are still his, even though Babs75 is guardian. A good investment plan might help too. Mom's total assets, including those from the condo sale, have remained almost static, despite taking quite a lot out every month, more when the condo needed coverage, but still a lot (covers about 1/2 MC and various supplies, necessities not provided.) The 2 year graph, except for a dip early in the virus days, is almost flat! Best plan ever!!!
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right now im putting my grandmothers house for sale I do have a buyer but the house has had a lot of renovations inside the funds are going to run out eventually going into 2021. in NJ since she is still living, i have to get approval from the surrogate court which is now in the pending stages and may be delayed as i spoke with the elder care attorney they are changing the judge which makes this situation a bit more difficult and will delay the process a bit longer. I even went thru this 2 years ago with guardianship process with that being delayed since the judge went on vacation. I dunno if they'll even let me apply for medicaid. I dont want the home to take the house to pay for months if that happens more stress on me which i dont need.
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disgustedtoo Oct 2020
If possible, see if your attorney can set up some kind of deal with the buyers where they pay "rent" while waiting for the process in the courts to shake out. They may not be willing. When I was selling my house, the buyer's peeps kept delaying things. Initially the atty allowed a delay in the sale, but on the second delay, it was going to cost the buyer. They worked out a deal such that he paid X amount until the sale completed.

Granted this was an issue on the buyer's side, but it might be worth asking about whether this can be done. I would think the court would approve the sale, to give her funds to cover her care and keep her off Medicaid!
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Since he isn't using it, you might consider selling it or renting it out. If you rent his home, then the tenants can care for the yard, pay utilities, and pay enough to cover property taxes as well as a little "income" for Your LO's needs. In some states the taxes will be more since it is not under "homestead". Consider having the contents of the home removed and placed into storage.
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Dont sell his home unless you have to.
My 96 yr old Dad has dementia and he always saud he wanted to stay in his home which he had done. One year ago his dementia had gotten so bad that he can no longer get up without help to get to and from his wheelchair.

I hired Caregivers 24 7 and of course that isn't cheap.

Im now considering hiring a Live In because that would be about 1/3 to 1/4 the cost of using several Caregivers doing shifts.

I know my Dad is happy in his own home with failure surroundings.

I have installed Nest Cameras so I can keep an eye on my Dad any time 24 7. I can sleep better at night knowing I can check on him at anytime and see how he is doing and how he is being treated.

Unless you actuall need the money for his Care and need to sell the house then you shouldn't sell it.

you could always bring it up in a conversation about his thoughts on the subject.

Sonetime the only thing Seniors have going for them and keeping them alive is their memories and or thoughts that one day they'll be returning to their home.
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disgustedtoo Oct 2020
Her dad hasn't lived in the house for a long long time, so your suggestion to hang on to it and hire help doesn't really help. He's been in AL for some time and now in a NH. His needs are met, the house may be a "memory" for him, but it is more like an albatross at this point - at the very least, a money pit! He doesn't live there and won't be returning, so there is NO reason to hang on to it.
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I’m not sure about the laws in your state and this is hearsay from my sister who worked in real estate. It was said that you can sell your house once and not have to pay capital gains tax on it once you hit a specific age. The money realized from the sale could and should be put into an account specifically for the cost of your fathers care. I used a fiduciary account for my fathers veteran benefits, this was done because when you are POA you can no longer access any of his bank accounts. This account let me continue to write checks to pay his outstanding bills.
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wolflover451 Oct 2020
when you said if POA you can no longer access any bank accounts, I was a little confused. I am POA for my father (when living) and my mother (still living). I take care of/write out all her bills (signing my name as POA) and have never had any problems.  Were you stating that because of the selling of the house?  just curious that's all.  I have been working with elder attorney since my father had entered NH back 2014 and he just recently passed in May 2020.  my mother still living but her writing is terrible so I handle all the bills.  I only needed to supply the paperwork on that to the utility places to verify that. thanks
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With your dad's declining mental state, can you get 2 doctors to sign paperwork declaring your dad incompetent? If you can do that, and take it to the court you might be able to get them to allow you to sell the house. It's worth a shot!
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With regards to your siblings, the money realized from the sale after taxes are paid is used for dad's care, correct?

Please remind them for me that it doesn't become an inheritance until the testator is dead.

"Inheritance" is an unseemly word to utter before probate.
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If you can legally sell his home without him knowing, then I wouldn't tell him when you sell it. I sold my 87yo mother's home several months after taking care of it for two years. Honestly, I thought my mother would pass and then there would be no guilt in selling it. She has severe dementia and unable to walk and will never have "gotten better." If she asks about the house, I say "the house looks great." But since COVID and our brief visits, the house has never come up. I suspect it won't anymore. If you can sell it without your father's knowing, that's what I would do.
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Babs75 Oct 2020
We're meeting my realtor there tonight to give us an idea of what type of fixes we need to make. The house is old. There's no way I'm going to be a landlord. We're still working on figuring out the tax implications of this and what tax will be owed. I need to have this figured out before I present the idea to my 3 siblings (this directly affects their inheritance and I know I will take heat for it) even though none of them have lifted a finger to help maintain it (it was not our house growing up - it was my dad's wife's house when they married in the 1980's). Right now since I can't see dad becaise of Covid, we don't talk much. My concern is that once things open up (which they partially have here), and I am able to see him again, the questions will start.
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Either rent the house or sell it. Why are you holding onto an unoccupied house when you know that he will never return?

You risk having the home occupied by squatters or wild animals.
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No issue? I would get that in writing!
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Personal opinion the house should have been sold 12 months ago.
Or at least in this time go through the house and remove and distribute to family what is to be kept. Sell what there is of value, donate what is of no value to you and toss the stuff no one wants or you can not donate.
Your other option is to have a family member buy the house and they can sell the house they currently have and move into "dad's house".
You could ask about the house being placed in a Trust so the Trust would own the house and it can remain in the family.
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I haven’t read through everything but I do have some personal experience with aging loved ones and old houses. I also understand your reluctance to rock the boat with dad by forcing the sale of the house in his mind and if you can’t convince him to get on board with selling I can see why it isn’t worth doing that to both of you. The next best option, I would think is to rent it. Even if rather than get enough to cover taxes, insurance and expenses you end up taking a little less to have a family or someone really responsible in there. Maybe someone who will take care of things rather than call on you to do it every time there is a need, you might even be able to find a situation where someone rents it with the thought that when the time comes they might the purchase it so they are treating it like their own. It won’t be a money maker in any of these scenarios but it might take a lot off your plate and make things easier. In leu of that if you live close enough and are willing to take on the work, it sounds like it might be in a great spot for short term rental and you could explore that which has the possibility to generate a profit rather than simply hold it. Either way having someone living in the house is always preferable to having it sit empty especially this time of year and over the winter. Since it is empty now do make sure there is a cap in the chimney and all possible critter entrances are sealed. Once they get in and they will and can make themselves at home for the winter you have big problems, we experienced this the winter my mom was living at my brothers after her stroke and heart surgery, even though they would “visit” the house periodically it wasn’t until spring when she wanted to spend more time there hoping to move back in that we discovered raccoon’s had set up shop in the eves behind the upstairs bathroom and squirrels in the ceiling above the big room on the other side of the house and walls in the living room. It was the raccoons that made the biggest mess though, they had been using the bathroom as just that, a bathroom and by the time we discovered it spring had happened and it was illegal to use some of the easier methods to get them out because they might have babies, it was far more expensive and difficult to get a professional in to deal with it for that reason as well. It really is beneficial to have someone living there for various reasons, insurance included so that what I would be trying to do in your place at least this year. I’m sure being a landlord for your dads home is not high on your list but it might be the wisest thing right now, sorry.
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Unoccupied home insurance? My homeowner's went from $1,300.00 a year to $4,500.00 a year.
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Babs75 Oct 2020
An that will be another reason to let it be sold, Thanks,
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I’d suggest that you donate the 2 cars soon so it’s in this tax year. Plus 2 less things to deal with & you don’t need to go back to court to do it.

On the house, if the gains are too heavy to warrant a sell, Im going to approach this from a different angle.... forget about the “house”, it’s all about the land. If it’s more than likely to be a tear down, then get it ready for that eventuality, so no real repairs, no big maintenance, no bringing anything up to newsy codes. Nothing done to make it more traditionally market ready. Just the minimal upkeep.
If he has funds for next 2 years to pay for all things house and his MC, the house will outlive him. Inheriting it is always the better financial option. Plus you’d have to deal with new legal to his guardianship & it sounds sticky & exhausting, I’d avoid selling it if it was at all feasible.

You’ll need a Vacant Dwelling Policy & as others have said they are not exactly inexpensive even tho it’s basically just a fire policy. You may need to get a few quotes to find one that’s reasonable.
I agree with the others on getting it winterized, so it can be shut down with minimal utility & plumbing worries. If it has a fireplace, I’d suggest that you get a chimney pro to secure it so no surprise woodland creatures as tenants. They can do amazing amount of damage.
The stuff in the house, it’s not your childhood is it? It’s your dads late wife’s home & collections, right? I’d do a registered letter to her daughter about her taking all that she wants from the place. Yes even tho she said she wanted nothing. It’s a CYA Justin Case.
Is her daughter at all a heir? Or if it was sold now, is she expecting some of the $ as it was her mother’s fully paid for home at the time of remarriage? Is this a factor in you dads not wanting it sold?
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Babs75 Oct 2020
Yes, the house will probably outlive him as long as nothing happens to it. Those big trees really worry me! Not to mention if one falls on a neighbors house. I don't want to end up in some sort of legal issue.

The house was not my childhoood house. It belonged to his wife and it was their daughter's childhood house. Her name is not on the deed nor is she an heir to his estate. I suspect we may have an issue with her. I have never trusted her and I tolerate her at best. My dad is clinging on to old memories.
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