Selling a Parent's House with Power of Attorney in Tennessee

Can I sell my parent's house with power of attorney in Tennessee?

Yes, if the power of attorney is durable, was signed and notarized while your parent still had legal capacity, and expressly grants authority over real estate transactions. You'll need to record the POA with the register of deeds in the county where the home sits, sell at fair market value under your fiduciary duty, and clear the title company's review before closing. If your parent is on TennCare (Medicaid) or may need it soon, talk to an elder law attorney before you list selling can turn an exempt home into a countable asset. By Khristian Schlemmer | July 28, 2026

Few calls I get are heavier than this one. A parent has moved into assisted living or a nursing home in Lebanon, Mt. Juliet, or anywhere in Middle Tennessee the house is sitting empty, the care bills are real, and an adult child with a power of attorney is trying to figure out whether they're actually allowed to sell it.

The short answer is usually yes. But this is one of those transactions where the order of operations matters enormously, and where a well-meaning family can create tax and Medicaid problems that cost far more than the house sale solves.

Here's how it works in Tennessee, and the two traps to check before you ever call an agent.

What your power of attorney has to say

Not every POA can sell a house. Before anything else, pull out the actual document and check three things:

• It must be durable. In Tennessee, a POA isn't durable unless the document says so. "Durable" means it stays in effect after your parent becomes incapacitated which is exactly when most families need it. A non-durable POA becomes useless at the moment it's needed most.

  
  

• It must expressly cover real estate. General language isn't always enough. Title companies want to see clear authority to sell, convey, and sign documents related to real property. Some POAs even name the specific property.

  
  

• It must be signed and notarized while your parent had capacity. This is the one families run into too late. A parent who has already lost legal capacity to dementia can't sign a new POA. If there's no valid POA in place, the path to selling runs through a Tennessee conservatorship a court proceeding where a judge appoints a conservator and approves every major step of the sale. It works, but it's slower, more expensive, and public. If your parent is still early in a diagnosis and has capacity, getting a durable POA done now is one of the most valuable things your family can do.

  
  

Two practical steps once the document checks out: record a copy of the POA with the register of deeds in the county where the property sits (in our area, that's the Wilson County Register of Deeds for a Lebanon or Mt. Juliet home), and get the POA in front of the title company early before the house is listed, not the week of closing. Title companies scrutinize POA sales harder than ordinary ones, and some have their own documentation requirements. Finding that out under a closing deadline is how deals fall apart.

The two traps: Medicaid and taxes

This is the part that separates a smooth POA sale from an expensive mistake, and it's why I tell families to loop in an elder law attorney before listing not after.

The Medicaid trap. If your parent is on TennCare CHOICES (Tennessee's long-term care Medicaid program) or might need it within the next five years, the house occupies a special position. While your parent owns it with an "intent to return" on file and equity under the 2026 limit of $752,000 the home is generally an exempt asset. It doesn't count against TennCare's strict resource limits.

The moment you sell it, that changes. Sale proceeds are fully countable. A parent who was eligible for TennCare can become ineligible overnight, and the family then has to spend down the proceeds on care at Middle Tennessee nursing home rates before coverage resumes. Medicaid's look-back period also means you can't fix this by gifting money to family members; transfers for less than fair market value trigger penalty periods of ineligibility.

Sometimes selling is still the right move the proceeds may simply fund care privately, and that's a legitimate plan. But it needs to be a decision, made with an elder law attorney who can run the numbers, not a surprise discovered after closing.

The tax trap. Here's the one almost nobody warns families about: the step-up in basis. When a parent passes away owning the home, the heirs' tax basis resets to its market value at death decades of appreciation become tax-free. When you sell before death under a POA, there's no step-up. The gain is calculated from what your parents originally paid.

On a Wilson County home bought for $120,000 in the 1990s and worth $475,000 today, that's a $355,000 gain on paper. Your parent's primary residence exclusion (up to $250,000 for a single owner) may cover part of it if they lived there two of the last five years but a parent who's been in a nursing home for several years can age out of that test, too. Timing matters, and I've covered how the tax picture works when the sale happens after death in my guide on selling an inherited house in Tennessee.

None of this means don't sell. Vacant houses carry real costs insurance companies don't like them, and in a market where homes are taking 70+ days to sell, carrying costs stack up. It means: get the Medicaid and tax picture clear first, because the answer changes what the right move is.

How the sale itself works

Once the legal groundwork is set, a POA sale runs mostly like a normal Tennessee sale with a few extra obligations on you.

You're a fiduciary. You're legally required to act in your parent's best interest, which in practice means three things: sell at fair market value, document everything, and don't self-deal. Selling the house to yourself or a sibling at a discount is how POA agents end up in court. This is also where a documented comparative market analysis earns its keep it's your paper trail proving the home sold for what it was actually worth, which protects you if a sibling or anyone else later questions the price.

Disclosure still applies. A POA sale generally doesn't exempt you from Tennessee's Property Condition Disclosure. You complete it based on actual knowledge and "unknown" is an honest answer for things you genuinely don't know about a house you didn't live in. Your agent and attorney can confirm how the form applies to your specific situation.

Decide on condition strategically. Most parents' homes are dated, and families scattered across the country rarely want to manage a renovation. Selling as-is at the right price is often the rational move I've broken down that math in sell as-is or fix it up first. One caution: grief-driven or urgency-driven sales attract lowball cash offers. Fair market value on the open market and "fast cash offer" are usually $50,000+ apart, and your fiduciary duty points toward the former.

At closing, you'll sign as "[Parent's name], by [Your name], attorney-in-fact" you're signing on their behalf, not as the owner. Proceeds go into your parent's account, never yours or a sibling's, and the title company will walk you through what comes out of the sale at closing. One more local note: if your parent had the Wilson County senior tax freeze on the property, the freeze ends at sale worth knowing as you estimate the final numbers.

Keep siblings informed at every step, even the ones the POA doesn't require you to consult. In my experience, most POA sale disputes aren't really about the law they're about a family member who felt blindsided. A shared folder with the CMA, the listing agreement, the offers, and the settlement statement prevents most of them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I sell my parent's house to myself using a power of attorney?

Generally no selling to yourself or buying at a discount is self-dealing, a breach of your fiduciary duty, unless the POA document explicitly authorizes it. Even then, you'd want the transaction blessed by an attorney and priced at documented fair market value. If a family member wants to buy the home, price it from a formal appraisal and keep every record.

What happens to the power of attorney when my parent passes away?

It ends immediately a POA is only valid during the principal's lifetime. If the home hasn't sold by then, authority shifts to the executor named in the will (or an administrator if there's no will), and the sale proceeds through Tennessee's probate process instead, typically taking 6–12 months.

What if my parent has dementia and never signed a power of attorney?

Once capacity is lost, it's too late to create one. A family member must petition a Tennessee court for a conservatorship, and the court must approve the sale as being in your parent's best interest including approval of the contract and closing. It's workable but slower and more expensive than a POA sale, which is why getting a durable POA signed early in a diagnosis matters so much.

Will selling the house affect my parent's TennCare (Medicaid) eligibility?

Very likely, yes. An occupied or intent-to-return home is generally exempt from TennCare's asset limits, but sale proceeds are fully countable which can end eligibility until the money is spent down on care. Gifting proceeds to family triggers look-back penalties. Talk to a Tennessee elder law attorney before listing, not after closing.

Does the house need to sell at market value?

Yes. As attorney-in-fact you have a fiduciary duty to get fair market value, and a below-market sale especially to family invites legal challenges and Medicaid transfer penalties. A documented comparative market analysis or appraisal is your protection.

Selling a parent's home under a power of attorney is completely doable in Tennessee families in Lebanon and across Middle Tennessee handle it every year. The ones who do it well get three things in order first: a POA that actually grants the authority, a clear answer on the Medicaid and tax consequences, and a documented fair market value.

If your family is facing this, I'm happy to help with the real estate side a no-obligation market analysis of the home, guidance on as-is versus prep, and coordination with your attorney and title company so the sale doesn't stall. And if you don't have an elder law attorney yet, I can point you to several trusted ones here in Wilson County. Reach out anytime.

About Khristian Schlemmer

Khristian is a top-producing Middle Tennessee Realtor and founder of First Class Real Estate, serving buyers, sellers, and investors throughout the Greater Nashville area. With over $60 million in career sales and 200+ homes sold, he is known for creative marketing, strong negotiation, and delivering a true first-class client experience. Born into a family passionate about real estate investing and home building, Khristian combines local market expertise with modern marketing strategies to help clients confidently achieve their real estate goals.