Coordinating A Home Sale With A Trust: The Checklist That Keeps A Client's Benefits Intact 🏠
When a client sells a home and one beneficiary receives SSI and Medicaid, the sale and the benefits have to be coordinated before the listing goes up. Here's the short version.
Confirm where the proceeds land. A disabled beneficiary's share can't touch their own name, even briefly, or it counts against the $2,000 SSI asset limit and can take Medicaid with it. It goes to a special needs trust instead.
Know which trust you're funding. Third-party money the beneficiary never owned passes with no payback. First-party money that was already theirs carries a Medicaid payback at death. Same protection now, different ending.
Time the step-up. A home sold soon after death usually owes little or no capital gains, since the basis resets to date-of-death value, which gives room to price it right instead of rushing.
Line up the real estate early. Pricing, the buyer pool, and the timeline all move better when the agent is in from the start, not the week of closing.
Get these working together and the client sells for what the home is worth while the beneficiary keeps the safety net.
If you've got a client selling a home with a trust and benefits in play, loop me in early and I'll run the real estate side in step with your work. And if it's useful, forward it to a colleague whose client faces the same sale.
Victor Antunez
Real Estate Professional 🔑 Autism Dadvocate