Property & real estate decisions
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For many families, a parent's home is their largest asset — and decisions about it are rarely straightforward. Whether your parent is considering selling, you're managing a property during a health crisis, or you're dealing with an inherited home, understanding your options matters.
Selling the home to fund care
This is often the right decision, but timing and execution matter. A home sold well — properly prepared, accurately priced, and marketed effectively — can fund years of care. If your parent moved into a licensed care facility because they could no longer care for themselves, and owned and lived in the home at least one of the five years before the sale, the federal home-sale exclusion (up to $250,000 of gain per person) can still apply (IRC 121(d)(7)); once sold, the cash counts toward Apple Health's asset limit. A home sold poorly leaves money on the table when families can least afford it.
Renting the home
Some families prefer to keep the property and generate rental income to offset care costs. This works if the family has capacity to manage a rental or hire a property manager — and if the financial return justifies the complexity.
Inherited property and probate
If a parent passes away with property in their name alone — not in a funded trust, and not passing by a recorded transfer on death deed, joint tenancy with right of survivorship, or a community property agreement — the home typically goes through Washington's probate process before it can be sold or transferred. This takes time and involves specific legal steps. Understanding this early prevents surprises.
Tax considerations
The stepped-up basis at death (a federal rule) can significantly reduce capital gains for inherited property — worth understanding before selling. In Washington, community property generally receives a new basis on both halves when the first spouse dies. Proper pricing of an estate property is critical; many families underestimate what preparation and accurate valuation can add to the sale price.
Next step: the site's guides explain the sale, rental and probate options in more detail, and Real Property Planning's Find a Professional page lists independent professionals you can contact directly.
Find a ProfessionalYour next questions
Should we sell the house to pay for care?
How a parent's home is sold to fund senior living in Washington, step by step, and what it means for taxes and Medicaid.
Should we put the house in a child's name?
Wills, trusts, transfer-on-death deeds and adding a child to title, and the tax and Medicaid risks of each.
How do we prepare the house and the move?
Downsizing a long-time home: sorting, timing and getting the house ready.
Could a reverse mortgage pay for care instead?
How reverse mortgages work for Washington seniors, and what happens when the borrower moves into care.