My mother and I legally own our lovely CA condo jointly which will eventually be passed on to me from her legal trust as a sole owner upon her eventual passing, but she has recently been moved to an assisted living residence in the State of Oregon to live near my available family who has medical and financial POA. I still occupy our condo in CA and must stay there because I have nowhere else to go. My 94-year-old mother counts on my CA condo occupancy in order to maintain her OR Medicaid eligibility that pays for her care in OR, and she cannot ever return to our CA residence. Unfortunately, I have been unemployed from permanent work for over 20 months and still looking for work but must now solely maintain our CA condo. The loan has been paid off, but I must now solely pay for its maintenance and utilities expenses because no other family members are able to contribute. My own funds will run out in about 5 years unless in find steady work. My greatest fear is homelessness in CA or relocation to out-of-state family by age 63; no full Social Security until age 66. I cannot sell and our CA condo move until Mom passes. How is the best way to legally save and protect our CA condo investment that we had worked at for over 20 years of living together to build?
Pat, A Concerned Daughter.
Here are some general observations:
If your mother is now on Medicaid and in a care center, you know that she has only a small personal allowance. She cannot afford to contribute to the maintenance of the Condo, even though it is still in her name. The annual fees are totally up to you at this point.
Your mother is allowed to own a home and remain on Medicaid. But when she dies the state has the authority and the responsibility to try to recover some of the costs of her care by taking the proceeds when the home is sold. The fact that the home is not in the state she is getting care from, and that you also own the home, and that it would be a hardship for you to move out, all may have an impact on whether the state (OR) can/would try to recover funds. But this is complex enough to deserve professional advice.
I am happy for you that you and Mom had more than 20 years of enjoyment of your lovely condo. That must have been very pleasant for both of you while it lasted.
I am extremely sorry you are now unemployed. I wish you the best in finding meaningful work. Until then, I wonder if it would be worthwhile to take work that you are overqualified for -- just anything to bring in a little cash and extend the five year period you have as a cushion. For example, most retail places are hiring extra help for the holiday season. Not on your career path, perhaps, but maybe enough to get you through a few months without using your savings, and get you a discount besides!
I think you need and deserve some professional guidance on how to protect your investment.
Good luck!
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