Am I Obligated to Pay for My Elderly Parent’s Medical Bills?

Filial Responsibility Laws and You

Life doesn’t always unfold like the fairy tales we watched as youngsters. Sometimes sickness or simply daily care expenses finds our elderly parents at a financially vulnerable time. In these instances, one may wonder “Am I responsible for my elderly parent’s medical bills?” This is a valid question on a number of levels. 

Here are a few things to consider when it comes to your role in your parent’s medical bills:

Personal Conscience, Culture and Parents’ Medical Expenses

In many cultures it can be seen as selfish to even question your role in assisting your parents financially. We won’t assume that you simply don’t want to share your abundant resources. Particularly if your parents were present and active throughout your life, we’re sure you want to help your parents if you can.

We aren’t the moral police, but it’s standard in our culture to help the elderly. If you are religious or from a culture where the elderly are revered, it’s likely you will assume this responsibility willingly.

But when a parents’ finances become such a burden that they would exhaust your resources and impact you and other family members, sometimes you have to consider other options. We encourage you to explore external means covering these expenses as there are entities and government provisions to help with things like these.  

Filial Responsibility Laws and Parents’ Medical Bills

With conscience and culture out of the way, what about the law? Filial laws require families to pay for their parents’ medical debts when they can. For example, Massachusetts General Law (Part IV, Title I, Chapter 273, Section 20) 

Requires any adult child, who has “sufficient means,” to provide support and maintenance for a parent, if the parent, “through misfortune and without fault of his own, is destitute,” is unable to support and maintain his or herself, and is living in the state of Massachusetts.

While filial responsibility laws exist in about half of the states in America, they are seldom if ever enforced if the adult children lack the resources to cover the debt. Consult legal professionals to clarify if they are enforced because this could lead to entities pursuing your assets to cover the medical expenses of your elderly relative. 

Support Is Available to help you Care for Your Parents

While filial responsibility laws exist to ensure that the entire expense doesn’t fall on public resources, they typically aren’t enforced if you are not in a desirable financial position. In the event that you are not able to clear your elderly parent’s medical expenses, we recommend that you consider government programs and nonprofit organizations.

For more information on finances and elder care visit the support center at Mass Care Link.