Question:
What are familial responsibility laws – how many states still have these on the books and how does this affect family members? (I read that in China a lawsuit was settled resulting in the adult son having to pay for his mother’s care even though they had not spoken since he was a child; in another U.S. lawsuit, a daughter who had been abused by her father as a child and not seen him in years was contacted by a nursing home to pay his outstanding bill.)
Response:
While some states have filial responsibility laws on the books, they are almost never enforced in the United States. That doesn’t mean that nursing homes and other creditors won’t try to get paid by family members, even if they have no legal right to payment.
However, children can sometimes put themselves in legal jeopardy, for instance by signing as a guarantor on a nursing home or assisted living contract or admission agreement. Sometimes nursing homes ask a family member to sign as a so-called “responsible party” with the term ill-defined. It may not be clear whether it entails financial liability or simply acting as the contact person for the facility. We always advise our clients when signing these documents to add the words “not as guarantor” after or below their signature.
Another way that family members can get in trouble is through misrepresentation. For instance if a child tells a facility that their parent has more funds than they do and this action causes the facility to lose money, the individual who made the misrepresentation could be held liable for the loss. In addition, a child might be held legally responsible if they participates in a transfer of assets that results in a nursing home resident not having the funds to pay for care nor being eligible for Medicaid.
Unlike children, spouses on the other hand do have a legal responsibility for paying for one another’s care and well being. So, spouses can be held liable for the cost of care of a husband or wife in a nursing home.
