You May Have to Pay for Your Parents' Care

Your parents may be like millions of others. Because of their age, or maybe an illness like Alzheimer's, they're no longer able to take care of themselves. Often, they get the help and care they need from a nursing home or some other long-term care facility. It's not cheap, though, and many seniors exhaust their savings paying for the care.

What happens when the money runs out? Out of love, you may feel a moral obligation to help. In some states, however, you may be legally responsible for paying your parents' long-term care.

Filial Responsibility Laws

Filial responsibility laws date back to 17th century English law requiring children to financially support their parents when they couldn't support themselves.

Today, many states have these laws, and children are learning about them the hard way. For example, in Pennsylvania:

• A nursing home sued the son of a resident-patient who could no longer pay for her nursing home care. He didn't hire an attorney, ignored the suit and the home won by getting an $8,000 default judgment against him
• A daughter was sued for over $300,000 for her parents' nursing home care. The nursing home lost because her attorney proved she couldn't afford to pay the bill

The Laws & How They Work

In addition to Pennsylvania, 29 other states (PDF) have filial responsibility laws, including California, Ohio, Rhode Island and Utah.

The laws vary from state to state, but generally they require adult children (usually those at least 18 years old) to provide financial support for their indigent or poor parents. Some states, like Utah, look to others - like the parents' brothers and sisters - if there are no children or the children can't pay.

Enforcing the Laws

The states enforce their filial responsibility laws in different ways, too. For example:

• In states like Indiana (PDF), Pennsylvania, Utah and many others, civil lawsuits must be filed to get court-ordered support orders or judgments
• Adult children several states, such as Massachusetts and Ohio, may face criminal charges for not financially supporting their poor parents
• In Rhode Island and a few other states, both civil lawsuits and criminal actions are possible

Each state's law spells out who can start legal actions for support, and they they're different from state to state. In general, though, civil actions for support usually may be filed by parents; state, county or local government agencies; or long-term care facilities. County or local prosecutors start criminal actions.

Penalties for Non-Payment

Depending on the process in your state, in a civil action, a court may enter an order of support for a parent. That order, like any other court order, may be enforced by the court, and if necessary through a contempt action. The child faces a fine, jail time or both if found to be in contempt.

In some states, a judge or jury may enter a judgment against the child for the amount owed for the parent's care. A judgment may be enforced in any number of ways, including garnishment of your wages or a lien against your home or real estate.

Where criminal actions are allowed, you may face a fine, jail time or both. For instance, in Massachusetts, you may be fined up to $200, sent to jail for up to one year or both.

Children May Not Have To Pay

Most states don't make adult children liable for their indigent parents' long-term care costs in all situations. There are defenses you may be able to raise For instance:

• In Pennsylvania, Ohio and other states, you may not be required to pay if you can prove you can't afford it, or if you were abandoned as a child by your indigent parent
• In states like Indiana (PDF), you don't have to pay unless the indigent parent provided you with the necessary food, shelter, medical attention and education up to the time you turned 16 years old
• You can avoid a criminal conviction in Massachusetts if you can show you've provided reasonable support for your parents while your brother and sisters have not

Usually, courts will consider items like your earnings, financial obligations (mortgage, credit card bill, etc.) and your own children's education costs when figuring out if you can pay for an indigent parent's care.

Carefully read and understand the filial responsibility laws in your state if a home or state agency is looking to you for payment and you can't afford it. Or contact an attorney immediately. As the two Pennsylvania cases show, it could make a big difference in how the case ends.

Plan Ahead for Long-Term Care

Legal actions for filial responsibility aren't all that common, but the trend may change.

In the wake of the Great Recession of 2008-2009, the federal government and many state lawmakers face budget woes well into 2011 and beyond. Medicaid and other state-funded nursing home programs may lose some funding. Nursing homes and other care facilities may turn to filial responsibility laws to recover the costs of care.

You can protect yourself and your aging parents by acting now and planning ahead. Through estate planning, long-term care insurance and knowing how Medicaid works can help make sure your parents get the care and attention they need when the time comes.

Questions for Your Attorney

• What should I do if I'm sued for filial responsibility but my brothers and sisters haven't?
• My mother had problems with drugs and alcohol when I was child and I was raised almost entirely by my grandparents. Will I have to pay for my mother's nursing home care?
• My father is in a nursing home in a state with filial responsibility laws; there are no such laws in my state. Can I be forced to pay for his nursing home care?