Selling a House for a Loved One With Dementia
Many people find themselves in the challenging position of having to sell a loved one’s home to pay for that person’s medical care. While this is a difficult ordeal regardless of your loved one’s condition, selling a home becomes even more complex if a loved one is suffering from dementia or mentally incapacitated. To better prepare individuals who find themselves in such a situation, the following reviews critical details that caregivers should appreciate before taking steps to sell their loved one’s home. Can a Person With Dementia Sell Their Home? Only the individual who owns a home can transfer the house to a buyer. If an elderly person has become incapacitated, that individual must appoint someone else through the terms of a durable power of attorney document to act on the individual’s behalf before a sale can occur. If a caregiver or family member has no legal authority through the proper estate planning tools to do so, this individual cannot sell the home. Selling a Parent’s Home When You Have Power of Attorney The authorizations in a power of attorney document distinguish what a person can and cannot do. Many financial power of attorney documents grant an agent the broad [...]