My wife and I have a friend who is totally blind and receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Presently, he is living alone in an apartment subsidized by HUD’s Section 8 program. Around the corner lives his aged mother, in a house that she owns free and clear.
Now his mother isn’t going to last forever. She’s recently had to give up driving, and her own health problems are beginning to catch up with her. When she passes, will she be able to leave the house to her son, and will he be permitted to keep it and live in it without losing his SSI (only source of cash he has, btw)? I know that SSI rules allow a recipient to have a couple of thousand in savings, and some personal belongings (such as a car), but I’m not sure if owner-occupied real estate has to be liquidated and the excess money spent in order to retain eligibility.
Can anyone help me out with factual information?
P.S. SSI, not SSDI. He’s never earned wages, so the SSDI program and its rules do not apply to him.
He and his mother need to consult a lawyer. I think home ownership would be ruled out by his program, and if that is the case, there may be some other legal means for him to reside there.
I found something at the SSA site for you:
"Resources (things you own)
Resources that we count in deciding whether you qualify for SSI include real estate, bank accounts, cash, stocks and bonds.
You may be able to get SSI if your resources are worth no more than $2,000. A couple may be able to get SSI if they have resources worth no more than $3,000. If you own property that you are trying to sell, you may be able to get SSI while trying to sell it.
Social Security does not count everything you own in deciding whether you have too many resources to qualify for SSI. For example, we do not count:
The home you live in and the land it is on;
Life insurance policies with a face value of $1,500 or less;
Your car (usually);
Burial plots for you and members of your immediate family; and
Up to $1,500 in burial funds for you and up to $1,500 in burial funds for your spouse."
URL:
http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/11000.html
Thanks all. I’ll have my wife pass that along to him.