House/Home exclusion

[Trask]

It states that the home is excluded.  However, my father in law owns his own small house, yet he wants to sell and move to a retirement home.  He is an amputee and has difficulty.  Currently he has less than the $80,000 in assets that is allowed, however, if he sells his home he would have more than the $80,000.  How does one solve this issue?

thanks
trask

[vetadmin]

It doesn't really solve the problem outside of the fact he would have income to pay for his care.  Once the proceeds go into the bank he will have to show that income, which will probably make him ineligible from a financial standpoint.  More than likely he would need to wait until he spends down to apply.

If he is moving into a "retirement" community versus an Assisted Living facility, he cannot claim the rent as a medical expense.  If he has someone coming in to assist him, he can claim those expenses.

Based on what you have posted, I'm not clear that he meets the requirement of "assistance".  The other question would be, is he still driving?

[Trask]

Thanks for the reply. He does not drive, his wife does only for the necessities. They are both in their mid eighties.  They are very forgetful and his wife is physically unable to help him with bathing, etc.  They also need help with their meds.  They have been having a person come to their house to assist with this.  I understand your reply.  Thank you. trask

[VSR]

If he is not living in the home, regardless of if it is sold or not, it is considered net worth.  It is best to report the value of the real estate upfront.  VA will exclude it from any relevant calculations if they are not living there.  The last thing you want to do though is leave it out and have VA find out about it three years down the road.  Nobody wants to have a $40k debt that could have been avoided on day one.

[AngelaManz]

He can utilize trust or gifting measures in order to retain the VA benefit.  I would suggest speaking with an elder law attorney who is accredited with the VA to help you solve this issue.  It is an obstacle that can generally be overcome with some careful planning.