Generally, we would advise against intra-family loans where this is your total life savings you're putting at risk. Why not leave the $70,000 in an FDIC insured bank account and let your daughter make gifts to you and your wife. She can give each of you $13,000 a year gift-tax free. If she is married, she can give you twice that amount. An alternative would be for your daughter to lend you the money and for you and your wife to give her a mortgage on your home to make sure that is repaid. We call this a "private" reverse mortgage. If your daughter does not have sufficient funds, you can also get a commercial reverse mortgage, but it would be more expensive and would have limits on how much you could borrow. However you choose to go ahead, you should document it in writing so that you make sure that everyone has the same understanding of what the deal is.
Subscribe to the Knowledge Bank.
