The most valuable of my mother’s assets was her home – a modest 1,225 square foot
bungalow on Chicago’s south side with three bedrooms, a single bath, a large
backyard, and one car garage. My mother bought the house in 1986 for $55,000, the
equivalent of $123,000 today. She paid off the mortgage in 2016, which in hindsight is
when the symptoms of her dementia could no longer be hidden.

My mother didn’t have a will, so after over two years in probate court we – my
brother, sister, and I – sold her house for $75,000. After paying legal fees, fines and
associated late fees, and back taxes to the city and state, we were left with $40,500,
more than $80,000 less than what she paid for the house when adjusted for inflation.

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