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I. How We Work in Washington. Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services. APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
II. How We Are Paid. We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour. APFM tours certain Participating Communities in Washington (typically more in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.) During the 12 month period prior to December 31, 2017, we toured 86.2% of Participating Communities with capacity for 20 or more residents.
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V. Complaints. Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or ConsumerFeedback@aplaceformom.com to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights. APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.I agree that: A.I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information"). B.APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink. C.APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site. D.If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records. E.This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year. F.You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
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In what order should assets be liquidated to pay for Assisted Living expenses. I am thinking, savings account, cash in investment portfolio, car and finally house and contents. Any suggestions?
Investments continue to grow without costing you money like maintenance on a house does. Keep the investments as long as possible -- my mother's investments have almost doubled since she went into the nursing home two years ago, while her house's value has only increased a fraction of that amount while still costing her property taxes, the cost of a gardener, and other expenses.
I say sell the house and invest the proceeds. Remember, too, that if your parent held that house as joint tenants with a deceased spouse, the living spouse has a stepped-up cost basis to the value of the house on the date the spouse died. Example: My folks paid $45,000 for their house in 1969 and held it as joint tenants. My dad passed away in 2018, and the house was worth $1.7 million (It's California -- what can I say?). If my mom sells the house today, it's worth about $1.85 million, so she'd only pay capital gains taxes on the difference between $1.7M and $1.85M instead of the difference between $45K and $1.85M, because Mom's stepped-up cost basis is $1.7M. (This is why parents should never sign their houses over to their children rather than have them inherit them. The children won't get the stepped up basis if it's merely signed over.)
However, a tax advisor would be the smartest first step.
Yes, if set up properly, the home can be inherited upon death and result in very little cap gains. In this case, since it was never set up, it would be better to sell it (get the step up available and keep records of any repairs/cost, which can be deducted at sale.) Beware though, changes may be coming for cap gains and may eliminate some of all of these "perks."
The EC atty set up mom's condo as a Life Estate. This can be good if a person can remain in the home close to or within a few months of death. Not so for mom (there are waivers for living there maybe 2 of the last 5 years or something.) When we sold it, she had to sign the deed (living in MC then AND had forgotten the condo, focused on previous home!) She received a small portion of the proceeds, but it was enough to drive up her Medicare cost for the next year. It will revert back, since you can only sell the place once!
Anyway, unless I knew for a fact I had a terminal illness with a year or less left, I wouldn't use this transfer method.
Other issues could occur if the house remains unoccupied. It usually requires a special ins policy, more expensive, to cover an uninhabited place. Also, over time the house/yard can degrade and become worth less - better to clean it up now and sell it and invest the proceeds for mom's care.
I don't think there's an "order" for consolidating assets. The biggest issue with keeping a house or a car on hold is degradation, and assets that are being bled to "hold" it until later (registration, insurance and maintenance/repairs for the car, RE taxes, degradation and maintenance/repairs.) These assets can end up bleeding off too much money. It's better, if you know there's no hope of returning to a "normal" life, to sell the bigger ticket money-bleeders first!
You might want to talk this over with your CPA, or a financial advisor if you have one; depending on what sort of assets there might be tax ramifications.
I agree, sell the house first. I wished I had talked my Mom into leaving her house after Dad died. She kept up with taxes and bills but not the upkeep. Dad died in 2006, she came to live with me 2014. All her monthly income was used on a house she was not living in. Taxes alone were 6k a year, live in NJ. If she was still alive, she wouldn't make it now. Her SS ck would alone pay for xtra months in AL.
I cashed all Moms CDs in, they were getting hardly any interest so the penalty was nothing. I would cash in anything getting good interest as a last measure.
If think u may need Medicaid within 5 yrs, the house and car need to sell for Market Value. There are a few members that know finance. They will give u better info than me.
Agree - a house has expenses attached to it - taxes, insurance, maintenance. Savings and other assets along those lines do not. Good info you added about making sure to sell things at market value.
If your LO is not likely to go ‘home’ after time in AL, another approach would be to start first on the house, contents and car first. It will take time, during which you may need to go for the more liquid assets. But unless there are Medicaid benefits (eg a previous carer still living in the house – you do the checks), it may be a bad idea to get through the liquid assets and then wait for months while you get the house ready for sale.
By proceeding, I agree that I understand the following disclosures:
I. How We Work in Washington.
Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services.
APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
II. How We Are Paid.
We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour.
APFM tours certain Participating Communities in Washington (typically more in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.) During the 12 month period prior to December 31, 2017, we toured 86.2% of Participating Communities with capacity for 20 or more residents.
IV. No Obligation or Commitment.
You have no obligation to use or to continue to use our services. Because you pay no fee to us, you will never need to ask for a refund.
V. Complaints.
Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or ConsumerFeedback@aplaceformom.com to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights.
APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.
I agree that:
A.
I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information").
B.
APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink.
C.
APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site.
D.
If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records.
E.
This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year.
F.
You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
I say sell the house and invest the proceeds. Remember, too, that if your parent held that house as joint tenants with a deceased spouse, the living spouse has a stepped-up cost basis to the value of the house on the date the spouse died. Example: My folks paid $45,000 for their house in 1969 and held it as joint tenants. My dad passed away in 2018, and the house was worth $1.7 million (It's California -- what can I say?). If my mom sells the house today, it's worth about $1.85 million, so she'd only pay capital gains taxes on the difference between $1.7M and $1.85M instead of the difference between $45K and $1.85M, because Mom's stepped-up cost basis is $1.7M. (This is why parents should never sign their houses over to their children rather than have them inherit them. The children won't get the stepped up basis if it's merely signed over.)
However, a tax advisor would be the smartest first step.
Yes, if set up properly, the home can be inherited upon death and result in very little cap gains. In this case, since it was never set up, it would be better to sell it (get the step up available and keep records of any repairs/cost, which can be deducted at sale.) Beware though, changes may be coming for cap gains and may eliminate some of all of these "perks."
The EC atty set up mom's condo as a Life Estate. This can be good if a person can remain in the home close to or within a few months of death. Not so for mom (there are waivers for living there maybe 2 of the last 5 years or something.) When we sold it, she had to sign the deed (living in MC then AND had forgotten the condo, focused on previous home!) She received a small portion of the proceeds, but it was enough to drive up her Medicare cost for the next year. It will revert back, since you can only sell the place once!
Anyway, unless I knew for a fact I had a terminal illness with a year or less left, I wouldn't use this transfer method.
Other issues could occur if the house remains unoccupied. It usually requires a special ins policy, more expensive, to cover an uninhabited place. Also, over time the house/yard can degrade and become worth less - better to clean it up now and sell it and invest the proceeds for mom's care.
I don't think there's an "order" for consolidating assets. The biggest issue with keeping a house or a car on hold is degradation, and assets that are being bled to "hold" it until later (registration, insurance and maintenance/repairs for the car, RE taxes, degradation and maintenance/repairs.) These assets can end up bleeding off too much money. It's better, if you know there's no hope of returning to a "normal" life, to sell the bigger ticket money-bleeders first!
Best financial advice out there! You want to search decumulation.
I cashed all Moms CDs in, they were getting hardly any interest so the penalty was nothing. I would cash in anything getting good interest as a last measure.
If think u may need Medicaid within 5 yrs, the house and car need to sell for Market Value. There are a few members that know finance. They will give u better info than me.