An elderly Pennsylvania husband and wife are being asked to pay their deceased adult son's medical bills under a law making family members responsible for a loved one's unpaid bills. The case is a reminder that such “filial responsibility” laws may go both ways – requiring parents to pay the debts of adult children as well as the children to pay for their parents'. For those involved in estate and retirement planning, the case underscores just how clueless policymakers are to the challenges of proper planning. The financial risk of filial responsibility debt adds yet another layer of uncertainty, and non-quantifiable risk to planning considerations. For the well-informed senior, asset protection planning is the order of the day, since only asset protection planning will mute the blow of unexpected financial filial responsibility. But, the vast majority of ill-informed seniors will continue to accept too much risk for too long in their retirement plans in order to reach an ever receding horizon represented by the amount of money necessary to live comfortably safe from risk. This species of planning has brought current financial and retirement planning to the crisis point at which most seniors find themselves today.
Alternately, seniors and their children, recognizing the seemingly insurmountable hurdles of these risks will simply eschew savings and financial planning- living month-to-month, year-to-year as best they can, relying upon the harsh and dangerous hand of government benefits as their safety net. Many will find the benefits they imagined to be illusory. Others will find that the benefits come at a cost- sacrifice of independence, quality of care, quality of life, and control. Never before in history have so many risked so much for so little.
Peg and Bob Mohn's son died at age 47, leaving unpaid medical bills. Now according to an article in The Morning Call, debt collectors are trying to dun the Mohns using an archaic state law that was not enforced until recently. Pennsylvania is one of at least twenty-eight (28) states that currently have filial responsibility laws. These laws usually make adult children responsible for their parents’ care if their parents can't afford to take care of themselves, but some of the laws also make parents responsible for their childrens' care. Filial responsibility is the law in the State of Ohio, although like Pennsylvania a few years ago, the law was rarely enforced.
Filial responsibility laws, which originated before the advent of the modern public support system, have been rarely enforced since these public support systems were enacted. States and health care providers have been clamoring for states to begin enforcing the laws in order to recover medical expenses, including Medicaid payments. In May 2012, a Pennsylvania court found an adult son liable for his mother's $93,000 nursing home bill under the state's filial responsibility law.
According to attorney Stanley Vasiliadis who is quoted in the Morning Call article, these laws provide additional incentive for people to plan their estates. Without proper planning, children could be on the hook for their parents' nursing home bills, and vice versa.
States with filial responsibility laws include: Alaska, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia. Two states, Idaho and New Hampshire, recently repealed their filial responsibility laws, but elder law attorneys in Pennsylvania haven’t made much headway in convincing their legislators to repeal.
These laws differ from state to state. If you live in a state that still has such a law on the books, check with your attorney to find out how you can protect yourself from a child or parent’s debts.
For more information on filial responsibility laws, go here.
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