Selling a parent's house while they're in assisted living

Your mom has been in assisted living for two months, the house is sitting empty, and the monthly bills for both are adding up. Selling seems like the obvious next step. It usually is a sequence, though, and the order matters: the paperwork questions come before the realtor, and the realtor comes before the sign in the yard. This post is about the practical side of selling while your parent lives elsewhere, often with you far away. If your question is how the sale fits into paying for care, start with selling the house to pay for assisted living.

Who can sign the sale?

Only someone with legal authority can sell your parent's house, and it's usually not the child who happens to be handling things. Find out which of these applies before you talk to a realtor:

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's guide for agents under a power of attorney is blunt about limits: your authority is strictly limited to what the document and state law allow, and you should read the document and do what it says. It also warns that businesses may not understand what an agent can do. Ask the title company early whether it needs to review the power of attorney before closing, and send it as soon as they ask. If the document's real estate powers are unclear, have a real estate or elder law attorney read it.

Even as agent, the house and the money stay your parent's. The CFPB's four duties apply: act only in your parent's best interest, manage their property carefully, keep it separate from yours, and keep good records.

Questions for the tax professional and the attorney

Two conversations belong before the listing agreement, not after the offer.

For a tax professional

• Does the home sale exclusion apply? IRS Publication 523 (2025) explains that a seller may be able to exclude up to $250,000 of gain, or $500,000 for a married couple filing jointly, if ownership and residence tests are met.
• Does the care facility rule help? Publication 523 says that if a person becomes physically or mentally unable to care for themselves, and used the home as their main home for at least 12 months of the 5 years before the sale, time spent living in a care facility licensed to care for people with their condition counts toward the residence requirement. Ask whether your parent's situation and community fit that description.
• What records do we need? The purchase price and major improvements affect the gain. Find those papers before the house is cleared.
• Does timing matter? Ask whether selling this year or next, or renting first, would change the answer.

For an elder law attorney

• Medicaid. Selling turns a house into cash. If Medicaid might pay for care now or later, the CFPB guide advises getting legal advice and being very careful about decisions that may affect eligibility.
• Authority. Is the power of attorney, trust or guardianship enough to sign?
• Sell or keep. Is renting or holding the house better for your parent? See renting out a parent's house for the questions that decision raises.

When to hire an elder law attorney covers how to find one and what the first meeting costs you in preparation.

Your parent's voice in the sale

The house may be the biggest thing your parent owns and the place most of their memories live. The CFPB guide asks agents to involve the person in decisions as much as possible, and to decide as they would have wanted when they can't say. In practice: tell your parent before the listing goes live, ask what they want to know along the way, and ask whether there is anything left in the house they want before it's sold.

What to say

"Dad, the house has been empty since you moved, and we think it's time to sell it so the money can go toward your care. Before we do anything, is there anything still there you'd like to have? And would you like me to tell you when we get an offer, or would you rather not hear the details?" Some parents want every update; others would rather not.

Getting the house ready from far away

• Insurance first. Triple-I notes that most homeowners policies limit or exclude coverage once a home is unoccupied for typically 30 to 60 consecutive days, and a listed house sits empty with strangers walking through. Tell the insurer; see insurance for a parent's empty house.
• Clear it, or decide to sell it furnished or as-is. The sequence for emptying it is in clearing out a parent's house after the move.
• Keep utilities on for showings and inspections, with heat on in winter.
• Lead paint disclosure. For most homes built before 1978, the EPA says sellers must give buyers information about known lead-based paint and hazards before the buyer signs a contract. Your agent will have the form; you'll need to answer what your parent knows.
• Repairs or as-is. Ask the agent which repairs are worth making and which buyers will price in. Get bids by photo and video before you approve anything.
• A local contact with a key, for contractors, inspectors and emergencies.

Choosing and working with a listing agent remotely

Interview at least two agents by video, and ask each the same questions:

1. How many homes have you sold for sellers who lived out of town, or for families of someone in care?
2. Who will be my contact, and how often will I get updates?
3. How will showings, inspections and appraisals happen with nobody living there?
4. What is your commission, and what do you recommend about offering to cover a buyer's agent? AARP's 2024 summary of the National Association of Realtors rule changes explains that offers of compensation to buyers' agents are no longer included on MLS listings, though sellers can still choose to cover them. Commission is negotiable.
5. What do you need from us for a power of attorney or trust sale, and when?
6. Which title or escrow company do you work with, and can they handle a remote closing?

Closing from a distance, and the proceeds

Ask the title or escrow company early how signing will work: a mobile notary at your parent's community, documents sent to you by mail, or another method they offer. If an agent is signing under a power of attorney, ask what they need to see and by when.

Closing is also when money moves, and scammers know it. The FTC's general rule applies: don't act on payment instructions from an unexpected email or text, and contact the company using a phone number or website you know is real. Confirm any wiring instructions by calling the title company on a number you found yourself.

After closing, the proceeds belong to your parent. The CFPB guide says to keep the money in your parent's name and separate from yours, and to record every deposit and payment. Then close out the house: cancel or convert the homeowner's policy, final utility readings, and a last mail forwarding check.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Managing Someone Else's Money, Help for agents under a durable power of attorney (Florida edition) (accessed Sept 2026)
2. IRS: Publication 523 (2025), Selling Your Home (accessed Sept 2026)
3. EPA: Real Estate Disclosures about Potential Lead Hazards (accessed Sept 2026)
4. AARP: Buying or Selling a Home? You Need to Know These New Rules (accessed Sept 2026)
5. Triple-I: When No One's Home, Understanding the Role of Vacancy Insurance (accessed Sept 2026)
6. FTC: How To Avoid a Scam (accessed Sept 2026)