STATES MAY TAKE NEW LOOK AT REQUIRING ADULT CHILDREN TO PAY FOR AGING PARENTS

ncpa.org ^ | 6.4.9

[InvisibleChurch]

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, says SeniorJournal.com.

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:

Twenty-one states allow a civil court action to obtain financial support or cost recovery. Twelve states impose criminal penalties on children who do not support their parents. Three states allow both civil and criminal actions. 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, says SeniorJournal.com.

Source: ElderLawAnswers.com, "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," SeniorJournal.com, June 3, 2009.

For text:

http://www.seniorjournal.com/NEWS/Boomers/2009/20090603-StatesMayTake.htm

For more on State and Local Issues:

http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_Category=40

[PrincessB]

About 15 years ago, I had the opportunity to live with a young woman from East Germany. For a weekend we hosted the equivalent of a Social Worker from Poland and a city manager from Russia (I don’t know where she found these people). The most fascinating conversation revolved around the elderly. In Poland families were left intact, with strong family responsibilities. In Russia, parents did not have the same types of parental responsibilities and a lot of adults did not have relationships with parents.

In Poland alot of families were taking over the care of the elderly, but in Russia they were left on the street. As we allow our schools to question parents authority and allow parents to abdicate responsibility, we will be Poland or Russia?

At that time, the elderly who had been taken care of the state were a huge problem in

[EnigmaticAnomaly]

"You know what, you can’t be responsible for your parents any more than you can be responsible for your adult children.

This is a scam."

I concur wholeheartedly.

[Syntyr]

This is utterly stupid !!!

As Walter WIlliams often says the state should have no right to take any portion of your finances for the benefit of others and any time that it does is equal to slavery. So my dad who smoked 2 packs a day gets diagnosed with lung cancer and wants life extending treatment costing $500,000 that will extend his life by 6 months and I have to pay for it?

That said I whole heartily agree that families should take care of one another. I pay my mothers utilities bills and house taxes on a regular basis.

They will not get one penny from my cold dead hands for my father who abused my mother and left us. I would rather give my money away to the homeless.

[DoughtyOne]

Thank you. I’m glad.

[Larry Lucido]

So a guy has 10 kids by different mamas, pays no child support, and the state locates, say, 3 of those kids. Do those 3 kids have to carry the load themselves? Can they offset against any support they never got? Do the other seven kids have to be found and made to pony up?

[twigs]

What about irresponsible parents who wasted their money? My parents were frugal, never made much money and my elderly mom is sitting on a pile of it. My wealthy brother is paying for her care anyway because he’s responsible like she was. My mother-in-law lived life in style but now has little. SS gives her enough to live off of, but no more. She complains about it, but also states that she doesn’t regret their full social life of which she now has the memories. Should hubby and I have to pay for it?

[TigersEye]

Perhaps we deserve Obama.

Yeah, our chickens have come home to roost. Just like 9/11.

If the Government has to mandate decent behavior then that says a Hell of alot about US Society, and sadly not much of what it says is very good.

Since the government has already sown up every avenue for our parents to pass on their estates to their children and made a false promise to take care of the elderly in exchange for looting their incomes all their lives they are the biggest cause undermining familial loyalty.

We the people can certainly take responsibility for allowing that to happen.

[alexander_busek]

[...] marriages are convenience based [...]

Actually, during most of human history, marriages were arranged for almost exclusively pragmatic (chiefly: economic) reasons. Outside of medieval ballads in which courtly gentleman praised the loveliness of some unattainable lady, the notion of romantic love was virtually unknown. Marriages were to hold property together, bear children to support one in one's infirmity, etc. - in short, they were for "convenience."

Only in modern times has the notion of marrying for love gained significant ground.

Regards,

[wardaddy]

ok, I’ll bite...after paying 10 bucks an hour for 24 hour care for 7 months when my mom passed away from Uncle C

and paying 750/day in acute nursing home for my dad for a month

but with their money...they were well off, they had no long term or home care provisos

what can I as a 50 years old pay for supplemental home or long term old person-dying care?

i tried to talk my mom into it after my dad died but she thought she would live to 90 like her mom...she made it to 75 instead with no insurence for that though Medicare pays for hospice

thanks

[wardaddy]

Maybe parents won't be so lousy once they realize that their children may be the only ones who will take care of them when they're older, instead of relying on the Nanny State.

I'm not a lousy parent...I'm one of the best i know of and was a faithful son too

and very modest...lol

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[alexander_busek]

Thankfully she is only 19 years older than me so by the time she needs that kind of care we hopefully will be retired too without an income to take.

Au contraire!

Having a mother who is a mere 19 years older than you is a drawback! That namely means that she'll be most in need when you are in your peak earning years (and according to the gov't are most able to support her.)

And don't you think for a moment that being "retired" will protect you from the government's avaricious claws! Unless you are totally indigent yourself, the government will squeeze you like a lemon!

Regards,

[Melas]

I can’t agree. Both of my deceased parents lived with me until their (respective) dying days. I’m all for responsibility, but responsibility can’t be coerced by the government. Nor do all parents and children have relationships that would warrant such care. There are some horrible parents out there that have long since been disowned by their children.

[jacquej]

You know, there is an idea here!

Us elderly parents who do not want to be a burden to our children can just commit some crime, and get ourselves sent to jail, so the state pays for three hots and a cot.

Think we could sue for conjugal cell rights?

[mom4melody]

The Bible is pretty clear on the parents responsibility to the children as well.

My mother was a prostitute and my father has done time in the federal pen for attempted murder. I still have a scar on my throat from him trying to do me in. They left me with his foster parents - good people but sorry parents (sometimes when God says no - there’s a reason).

So, in the care and feeding responsibility scheme of things....they still need to do their part. I don’t even have an old birthday card to show for their “parenting.”

They can both rot. No one dime from me - ever.

[MortMan]

LTC Insurance is Lieutenant Colonel insurance, of course! ;-P

[dfwgator]

In Poland families were left intact, with strong family responsibilities. In Russia, parents did not have the same types of parental responsibilities and a lot of adults did not have relationships with parents.

Much of that has to do with the fact that Poland is the most Christian country in the world, with 95% belonging to the Catholic Church.

[dfwgator]

My MIL lives with us, it’s a win-win, in that she has a nice place to stay and is taken well care of, and she helps us with cooking and taking care of our kids. Frankly, I don’t know what we would do without her.

[dfwgator]

Is there anything in the Bible about the “Prodigal Parent”?

[Marie]

Because, in the case of your Parents, it is the right thing to do. Because it is an unselfish act of love (and in your case, forgiveness) that you can do for members of your family. Because it fulfills a wider obligation to look after the elderly, the weak, and the ill — and your parents may be all of those things one day — which is something that all good, honorable and decent people do, irrespective of their culture. That is what Jesus would want you to do. That is how Christians behave. It is a Biblical principle. It pleases God when we do these things, and angers Him when we do not.

Then this is between me, my parents and G-d. The government has no say in the matter.