STAY-AT-HOME SENIOR VALUES INDEPENDENCE
Following a round of visiting with former neighbors who’ve sold their homes and moved into various luxury retirement communities, you’ve decided that lifestyle is not for you. Having nursed your husband through an extended illness prior to his passing, you have moved “back into life” again, becoming very involved in community and cultural activities. You value the very independence you feel some of those former neighbors have given up by moving, and you feel able to manage well in terms of upkeep.
Along with the life insurance benefits from your husband, you have been able to support your needs through a combination of Social Security, pension income, and investments. While in the course of his extended illness and later death, there were substantial costs; those have all now been paid in full, leaving you debt free.
Now, at age 69, you’ve been looking into taking out a reverse mortgage on the home, as a financial “back-up” plan going forward. While your son and daughter have been assigned power of attorney in your estate plan documents, you would prefer not to discuss the reverse mortgage with them. Eventually, you want them to have the choice of owning the home, either renting it out or of one choosing to live there once you no longer can, but, for a variety of reasons, you prefer not including them in the mortgage decision-making process or in your financial and estate planning in general at the present time.
As a parent, you certainly do not need your children’s permission or approval to take out a reverse mortgage on your own home. However, if you are forced by illness to vacate the home, and when you die, your children will be contacted by the lender to inform them of their options. Children with prior knowledge, needless to say, will be better prepared to make informed decisions. There is no chance they would be financially harmed, since, in the unlikely event that the value of your home were to decline and end up being less than the debt at the time of your death, they would have no responsibility for the deficit. Should they decide to sell, any profit would be theirs to keep…
When and if, at some future time, you decide to discuss your intentions with your son and daughter, they are sure to realize you’ve honored your own desire for independent “aging in place” while thinking ahead for their benefit as owners-to-be.
https://mutualreverse.com/david-garrison
David Garrison, NMLS ID 1595194. Mutual of Omaha Mortgage, Inc. dba Mutual of Omaha Reverse Mortgage, NMLS ID 1025894. 3131 Camino Del Rio N 1100, San Diego, CA 92108. Indiana-DFI Mortgage Lending License 43321. Michigan 1st Mortgage Broker/Lender/Servicer Registrant FR0022702. These materials are not from HUD or FHA and the document was not approved by HUD, FHA or any Government Agency. Subject to credit approval. For licensing information, go to: www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org
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