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Should Your Older Client "Age in Place" or Find Other Housing?
By Lawrence A. Frolik
For older individuals, the first question is whether or not to remain in their current living arrangement. Retirement offers choices to those who decide to move—they can opt for less-expensive and/or smaller housing in their current geographical area or they can relocate to a new area (because of family, weather, or recreational interests). However, many recent retirees are reluctant to move. For them, their current residence represents years or even a lifetime of memories, friendly neighbors, dependable shops and services, and membership in social and religious organizations. Members of this group wish to remain in their homes even though they realize they may have to face the issues again a few years later if their health declines. Even those who did move when they retired may have to consider moving again because of their physical condition, and members of this group may be reluctant to move from what they thought was their “dream” retirement home. For both groups, the term "aging in place" has special appeal.
Many older persons find that a valuable house turns into a liability, in part because of high property taxes. Selling the house and moving to a house assessed at a lower value is the surest way to reduce the property tax burden, but there may be less drastic solutions. Many states and localities offer property tax relief for older homeowners. In some cases, merely being past a certain age is sufficient to qualify; under other programs, the homeowner must meet income tests in order to be eligible. The most common types of property tax relief are:
- Homestead exemptions
- Circuit breaker programs
- Tax deferral programs
- Property tax freezes
- Home repair abatement
A few states also provide subsidized loans to assist older homeowners in paying property taxes.
Sponsoring
Entity:
The ABA Senior Lawyer's Division
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