Selling a Parent’s Home for Assisted Living or Memory Care

Can you sell your parent’s house in Washington when they move to assisted living or memory care? In Washington, yes, if someone with legal authority signs: the owner, an agent under a power of attorney, or a court-authorized conservator. For Medicaid, sale cash is treated differently from the house.

The first question is not the price. It is who has the legal authority to sign the deed, and what the parent’s situation is on the day the sale closes. A full house, a move-in date at a care community, and family spread out across the country make that question urgent fast.

A note before you read on. This article is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice. I am a real estate broker, not an attorney, CPA, or lender, and no attorney has reviewed this article. Most rules below link to their source. “The sources used here” means the statutes, rules, and pages linked in each section. Where they do not answer a question, the article says so, and that question becomes one to ask a lawyer, DSHS, or the title company before you act.

Who can sign for a parent’s house

A listing needs someone with the legal power to sell. In Washington there are three common situations, and the paperwork decides which one you are in.

Who signs	What the source says	What the sources do not say
The parent, as owner	Not addressed by the statutes below	How capacity is judged when memory loss is involved
An agent under a power of attorney	An agent with general authority over real property may sell or transfer it	Whether your parent’s document grants that authority
A court-appointed conservator	Needs notice and specific court authorization to sell the primary dwelling	How long approval takes

A power of attorney. Under RCW 11.125.270, an agent with general authority over real property can sell, exchange, lease, or otherwise transfer it, unless the power of attorney says otherwise. The words “unless the document says otherwise” are why the document itself matters. What the page that grants the agent’s powers actually says is the first thing to check.

A conservatorship. Under RCW 11.130.435, a conservator must give notice and get specific court authorization before selling the primary dwelling of the person under conservatorship. For any sale of real property, the conservator also needs added court authority over how the sale proceeds are handled. The same statute says that if a financial power of attorney is in effect, the agent’s decisions within their authority generally take precedence unless the court orders otherwise.

If you are weighing the two routes, the companion article on power of attorney vs conservatorship when selling a home in Washington goes through them side by side.

What the sources used here do not say: whether a parent with memory loss can still sign, how that is decided, and what route is open when there is no power of attorney and no conservatorship. Those are questions for a lawyer, and they are worth asking before a move-in date sets the schedule.

Why an unmarried or widowed parent is different from a married couple

Washington’s rules for the spouse who stays home, such as the resource split in WAC 182-513-1355, are built around a “community spouse.” A widowed or unmarried parent does not have one. The sources used here do not address a registered domestic partner.

Here is what the long-term care resource rule, WAC 182-513-1350, says for a single person:

• The resource standard for a single person is $2,000 at the time of writing. The same rule sets a higher standard for a married couple, which does not apply here.
• One home is excluded only if it meets the home equity limit in subsection 8. The rule sets that limit, and it can change.
• The home equity limit does not apply if the person’s spouse, or a dependent child under age 21, or a blind or disabled child, lawfully lives in the home. A parent who lives alone before the move has neither.

In short, the spousal protections described in the companion guide on selling a home when a spouse needs care are not part of a single parent’s picture. WashingtonLawHelp says the same thing in plain language: if you are single, your resource limit is $2,000.

One more boundary. Medicare does not pay for long-term care or custodial care, and says you pay for services it does not cover. Medicaid may apply for some people, depending on the state’s rules. Nothing here assumes your parent will apply. If they do not, the Medicaid rules below do not come into play, though who can sign and the other questions above still do.

The home exclusion and “intent to return”

The rule that defines the excluded home is WAC 182-512-0350, subsection 1(b). It lists four situations where one home is excluded from the resource count, and for long-term care programs the home equity limit in WAC 182-513-1350 also applies:

1. The client uses it as a primary residence.
2. The client’s spouse lives in it.
3. The client does not currently live there, but the client or their representative has stated that the client intends to return.
4. A relative who depends on the client financially or medically lives there, with documentation.

The third item is the one adult children ask about when a parent has moved to assisted living or memory care. As written, it turns on a stated intent to return. The sources used here do not say how DSHS evaluates that statement, how long an absence can last, whether a move to memory care is treated differently from a move to a nursing facility, or whether this home rule works the same way inside the long-term care program rules. Those are questions for DSHS or a lawyer.

There is a second piece that pulls the other way. Under RCW 43.20B.080, subsection 8, the state may file a lien against a person’s property before death if the person is an inpatient in a nursing facility or another medical institution and the department decides, after notice and a hearing, that the person cannot reasonably be expected to return home. If the person is discharged and returns home, the lien must be dissolved. WashingtonLawHelp adds that the state does not enforce such a lien until the person dies.

They do not explain how that statute applies to assisted living or memory care, or how the “intends to return” language and the “cannot reasonably be expected to return” language fit together. I will not guess. Bring these to a lawyer or to DSHS’s Office of Financial Recovery.

What the sale proceeds mean

Once the house sells, the rules look at the cash, not the house. The equity becomes cash, and the rules treat cash differently.

Situation	What the rule says	Source
Cash from selling an excluded home	Becomes a countable resource on the first day of the month after the sale	WAC 182-512-0300, subsection 3
Proceeds used to buy another home	Excluded if the client buys another home by the end of the third month after receiving them	WAC 182-512-0350, subsection 2
Single person’s resource limit	$2,000 at the time of writing	WAC 182-513-1350, subsection 2

Read together, sale proceeds above the resource standard would count against it once the money counts. What a family does about that is a legal and financial question, and this article does not suggest an answer. They also do not say how proceeds from a sale made before an application are weighed on the application date. That is a question for a lawyer or DSHS before the house is listed.

The size of the check also depends on price, selling costs, and what is owed. The costs of selling a home page walks through each one, so the number is known before any decision.

The five-year look-back and a sale to a sibling

When a parent applies for Medicaid long-term care, Washington reviews transfers made in the 60 months before the month the person both attained institutional status and applied. The rule is WAC 182-513-1363. A penalty can apply when something is given away or sold for less than it was worth. The rule counts transfers made by the client, the client’s spouse, or someone acting for either. That last phrase may matter to an adult child acting under a power of attorney, which is a question for a lawyer.

The rule lists home transfers that carry no penalty. They include a transfer to a spouse, to a child who meets the rule’s disability criteria, to a child under 21, to a sibling who lived in the home and held an equity interest for at least a year immediately before the person attained institutional status, and to a child who lived in the home and provided care, if all six listed conditions are met. Those conditions include two years of living in the home, two years of verifiable care just before the person’s period of institutional status, care Medicaid did not pay for, and a doctor’s documentation. “Institutional status” is a term the rule defines, and the sources used here do not say how a move to assisted living or memory care fits.

Here is a hypothetical, not a real client. Picture three siblings whose mother has moved to memory care. One lives nearby and has been helping for years. Another offers to buy the house for less than it is worth. Whether that price counts as a gift, whether the nearby sibling meets the caregiver exception, and who benefits from any of it are not real estate questions. They are legal questions, and a lawyer is the right person to answer them.

For the full explanation of the 60 months, see how the Medicaid look-back period works when you sell a house in Washington.

What happens to the house later: estate recovery

RCW 43.20B.080 directs the state to seek recovery from the estate of someone who received long-term care services, and it allows a lien on real property the person owned at death. WashingtonLawHelp says the state will not enforce the lien while a spouse, a registered domestic partner, a child under 18, or a child with a disability of any age lives in the home, and that hardship deferrals are possible through the Office of Financial Recovery. The article on estate recovery and the family home in Washington covers it in more depth. For a shorter overview, see the page on selling a home when a spouse needs long-term care.

What a broker can do, and where the broker stops

This is the part I can speak to as a real estate broker, and it describes facts, not a promise about any outcome.

• Pricing. A broker can prepare a comparative market analysis from recent sales of similar homes, so the list price rests on evidence. A free seller report and consultation is one way to start.
• Timeline. Once the care community gives a move-in date, a broker can work backward from it: how long to clear out, when to list, and a closing date that fits.
• Clearing out. A long-held house often holds furniture, papers, and keepsakes. A broker can coordinate cleanout, cleaning, and estate sale vendors. The Pre-Sale Concierge page explains how repairs and upgrades before a sale can be arranged.
• Selling as-is. A house can be sold in its current condition. Washington sellers generally give buyers a disclosure statement under RCW 64.06.020, and it is based on the seller’s actual knowledge of the property. The sources used here do not say who completes it when an agent signs for the owner, or whether a conservator sale is exempt, so that goes to the title company or a lawyer.
• Who signs. The listing agreement and the sale contract need the person with legal authority. In my general practice as a broker, I ask early for the power of attorney or court order. The sources used here do not say what a title company requires, so ask the title company directly.
• Siblings. A broker can send the same updates to everyone the signer chooses. A broker cannot settle who is entitled to what. If siblings disagree about selling, price, or who benefits, that is a legal question, and I do not advise on it.

Questions to ask before you list

Take these to a lawyer, DSHS, or the title company. Some have partial answers above, but none should be treated as settled for your family.

• Who has legal authority to sign, and does the document or court order cover selling real property?
• If the parent may apply for Medicaid, how is a sale made before an application treated?
• How does DSHS evaluate “intends to return” when a parent has moved to assisted living or memory care?
• Does a pre-death lien apply to assisted living or memory care?
• If a sibling buys the house, how is the price tested against fair market value?
• Who completes the seller disclosure statement when an agent signs?

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I sell my mother’s house if I have power of attorney?

Yes, if the power of attorney gives the agent authority over real property. Under RCW 11.125.270, an agent with general authority over real property can sell it unless the document says otherwise. Whether your document grants that authority is something to confirm by reading it. The sources used here do not say what a title company requires, so ask the title company directly.

Is a single parent’s house protected from Medicaid?

Not in a way anyone can promise. One home can be excluded in some situations, subject to the home equity limit in WAC 182-513-1350, and the spousal protections in WAC 182-513-1355 apply only to married couples. A single person’s resource limit is $2,000 at the time of writing, and cash from a sale is counted. Ask a lawyer how this fits your family.

Do we need court approval to sell a parent’s home?

A conservator needs notice and specific court authorization under RCW 11.130.435 to sell the primary dwelling, plus added court authority over the proceeds. An agent under a power of attorney that covers real property acts under that document instead. The sources used here do not say what applies with neither, or how long approval takes.

What happens to the money from the sale?

It depends on whether the parent applies for Medicaid, and when. Cash from an excluded home counts as a resource starting the first of the month after the sale, unless it buys another home within three months. Gifting it can raise a look-back penalty. The sources used here do not say how a pre-application sale is weighed, so ask a lawyer first.

Talk through the real estate side first

If a parent is moving to assisted living or memory care and the house is in King County or Snohomish County, I can help with the real estate side: what the home is likely to sell for, a timeline that works around the move, and a plan for clearing it out. The legal questions go to a lawyer or DSHS, and I am glad to work around their answers.

I am Emily Cressey with HomePro Associates at Keller Williams Greater Seattle. You can reach me at 206-245-8813, or read the Seattle downsizing guide. More at HomeProAssociates.com.

This article is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Emily Cressey is a real estate broker, not an attorney, CPA, or lender. Rules change and every situation is different, so consult a qualified professional before acting on anything here.