DW has a 64 year old brother facing some tough choices that we're trying to help him with. He's got an M.A. and taught English at the community college level two decades ago but has been a house husband for the past 15+ years, raising their two kids while his wife worked full-time. They went through a really messy divorce three years ago and he spent the time since then taking care of his 88 year old mother who recently passed.
We're trying to help him get established but there seem to be many "Catch 22's" involved. He's inheriting ~370K from his mom's estate (eventually - once probate is over) but has no other assets except her used car. Obviously he needs to find at least part-time employment but a nearly two decade resumé gap and his age makes that a real challenge. I've been encouraging him to take any part-time retail job he can get - e.g. Trader Joe's, Costco, Safeway - just to begin to get established. He's been living in western Washington (Anacortes/Mt. Vernon area) for most of his adult life and wants to stay but it is of course very expensive and I'm trying to help him find alternatives. 4-5% a year from his inheritance plus spousal SS when he's eligible are still not going to amount to even 30K a year so I think he's looking at having to rent a room in a house or get into some sort of income-restricted public housing, while also needing to work for the rest of his life. The wait list for subsidized housing in his immediate area is so long it'd be at least 2 more years before he'd be eligible.
I'm posting here just on the off chance that someone has had a friend or relative facing similar circumstances and might have ideas that haven't occurred to me.
We're trying to help him get established but there seem to be many "Catch 22's" involved. He's inheriting ~370K from his mom's estate (eventually - once probate is over) but has no other assets except her used car. Obviously he needs to find at least part-time employment but a nearly two decade resumé gap and his age makes that a real challenge. I've been encouraging him to take any part-time retail job he can get - e.g. Trader Joe's, Costco, Safeway - just to begin to get established. He's been living in western Washington (Anacortes/Mt. Vernon area) for most of his adult life and wants to stay but it is of course very expensive and I'm trying to help him find alternatives. 4-5% a year from his inheritance plus spousal SS when he's eligible are still not going to amount to even 30K a year so I think he's looking at having to rent a room in a house or get into some sort of income-restricted public housing, while also needing to work for the rest of his life. The wait list for subsidized housing in his immediate area is so long it'd be at least 2 more years before he'd be eligible.
I'm posting here just on the off chance that someone has had a friend or relative facing similar circumstances and might have ideas that haven't occurred to me.
