How would my Dad be able to sell his property?

And there many ways you could sell the house and transfer the assets, legally, to others or to trust, so that the income from the sale is not counted as income for the married couple. This is the most common service elder-care attorneys provide for clients facing incapacity and long-term care issues.

If dad doesn't have mom's express POA already, in some places, he would need to petitition the court for that authority, before you even think about selling ANY property. He should already have authority to make all financial and medical decisions for her, by nature of their marriage, but not necessarily for all the things he might need to do for her. This is why attorneys always advise people to make those arrangements at the same time new couples change their names on drivers' licenses and apply for marriage licenses. It's insane for any married couple not to have those advance directives and POAs in place at any age, because you never know when one might become incapacitated. The Medicaid consequences of owning and selling property vary, but these days, if that property isn't in trust, your mom proably wouldn't be eligible anyway, although that's not always the case now. Eligibility for Medicaid has changed under the new rules, and assets are not always used as eligiblity criteria, so owning a house outside of trust doesn't automatically disqualify people as it did before; income is always used, everywhere in the USA. Check with a lawyer before selling, but get a lawyer's advice in your area now to find out what the local laws allow and prevent him from doing first. Then check with a financial specialist at your mom's care facility -- they will have someone that will be able to tell you if sale of the home impacts her care or Medicaid eligibilty, if that's even an issue for you.

If mom is in the nursing home on Medicaid, don't attempt to sell the place. See a lawyer or you could inadvertently stop all her benefits.

Jodie, your Dad's best bet is to contact a barrister/attorney to see how he could legally sell the house.

Does your mom have a financial power of attorney? If so, the agent probably could agree to selling the house. You and he should talk to an attorney; there might be public-benefits ramifications if the house is sold.