Do your estate planning "Home" work

Recently I had listed a home where the owner was in a nursing home. The children had POA and signed the paperwork and put the house “on the market”. I went to the town hall to make sure the deed was in order only to find out that the house could not be sold until the mother was not living in it for at least one year… This posed a problem with the listing, so we took it off the market immediately. We now have to wait the time out before re-listing it. It could have been an awful situation if I hadn’t read the deed very carefully. As it turned out I saved this family a lot of wasted time by listing it, showing it, getting into contract and then having problems towards the potential closing. As people are living much longer and staying in their own homes, it is of great concern as to how the process occurs should they have to go into assisted living. When talking with an elderly client, parent, or friend I cannot stress the importance of making sure they have first and foremost, a will, second a POA (power of attorney) and third, to talk to an attorney to make sure the house is protected from an institutionalized “take over”! What I mean by that, is make sure the house is in your name as well as someone you trust completely…you can change the deed to protect your rights to live in your home the rest of your life but should something happen where this is no longer logical that you will be able to sell the property and use the profits to you and your family’s advantage rather than being dictated by an institution. So please… Remember to go to the town hall, Read the documents, if need be, ask an attorney about the wordage to protect your client and your reputation… A little “home” work can go a long way!!!