|
E-mail this page to a friend!
News for Baby Boomers
States May Take New Look at Requiring Adult Children
to Pay for Aging Parents
Boomers could get caught by laws already on books
in thirty states: ElderLawAnswers.com
 June 3, 2009 - Did you know you could be
responsible for your parents' unpaid bills? Thirty states currently have
laws making adult children responsible for their parents if their
parents can't afford to take care of themselves. While these laws are
rarely enforced, there has been speculation that states may begin
dusting them off as a way to save on Medicaid expenses.
These laws, called filial responsibility laws,
obligate adult children to provide necessities like food, clothing,
housing, and medical attention for their indigent parents.
According to the
National Center for Policy Analysis, a conservative research
organization, 21 states allow a civil court action to obtain financial
support or cost recovery, 12 states impose criminal penalties on
children who do not support their parents, and three states allow both
civil and criminal actions.
(For a list of the states and citations to state
statutes,
click here.)
Generally, most states do not require children to
provide care if they do not have the ability to pay. States vary on what
factors they consider when determining whether an adult child has the
ability to pay. Children may also not be required to support their
parents if the parents abandoned them or did not support them.
The passage of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005
made it more difficult to qualify for Medicaid, which means there may be
more elderly individuals in nursing homes with no ability to pay for
care. In response, nursing homes may use the filial responsibility laws
as a way to get care paid for. For more information,
click here.
For a discussion of filial responsibility laws in
the New York Times's "New Old Age" blog,
click here.
 Last Updated: 5/21/2009 11:37:18 AM
>> For latest updates at
ElderLawAnswers.com
>> Home page of
ElderLawAnswers.com
Click to More Senior News on the
Front Page
Copyright: SeniorJournal.com |
