COURT
ORDERS SON TO PAY HIS MOTHER’S $93,000 NURSING HOME BILL
By definition, “filial” means the relationship of child to parent. Over the past few years, we have seen new
state laws addressing this relationship by requiring adult children to be responsible
for their parents if their parents cannot afford to take care of themselves.
States that have enacted such filial responsibility laws are: Alaska, Arkansas,
California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky,
Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia,
and West Virginia. Fortunately, these laws have rarely been enforced, and federal
law provides that these state filial responsibility laws
apply only to those situations where elder or ill parents have yet to enroll in
Medicaid.
However, this week we have now seen this scenario
play out in a Pennsylvania appeals court where an adult son was
found to be liable for his ill mother's $93,000 nursing home bill under
Pennsylvania's filial responsibility law. See
Health
Care & Retirement Corporation of America v. Pittas (Pa. Super.
Ct., No. 536 EDA 2011, May 7, 2012). However, it did not have to be this way if
this son had consulted with a Family Wealth Attorney when his ill mother first
needed care. If the son had contacted a
Family Wealth Attorney, then he would have received the necessary assistance
and guidance to have his mother qualify for Medicaid to pay for her care.
Filial
responsibility lawsuits like this one will continue and certainly increase in
volume as baby boomers continue to grow older.
Additionally, with the costs of long-term care rising (an average
nursing home stay now exceeds $200/day), and with increasingly strict Medicaid
rules making it tougher for people to receive government assistance, hospitals,
doctors and nursing homes may find themselves with more unpaid bills. Under these filial responsibility laws, senior service
providers also have the legal right to choose which family members to pursue
for the money owed to them.
While these filial responsibility laws do
not directly apply to Medicaid recipients, these state laws may force children
to pick up their parents’ long-term care costs long before their parents are
eligible for Medicaid. Such a step could still shift significant costs from
states to families.
As a son or
daughter, or elder or ill parent, you are now being forced by the law to plan
for your family’s disability,
estate planning, long-term care insurance, Medicaid planning, health care decisions,
Medicare, nursing home issues, retirement living, retirement planning, social security,
veterans' benefits and like issues. In fact, some states make it a criminal
offense for failing to take care of your parents, which includes liability for
unpaid bills, fines and jail time.
If an elder or ill parents enters a nursing home with
insufficient funds to pay for their care, adult children should be vigilant
about potential claims against their own assets to pay for that care. As a
result of these filial responsibility laws, estate planning for both the
family’s adult children and elder/ill parents should be considered by all
families.
With your instruction to us on your importance of these factors to you and your family, we will work together to formulate an estate plan that addresses your family dynamics and these filial responsibility laws so that you and your family healthcare and asset protection are addressed to your satisfaction.
Without planning with a family wealth
lawyer, you will not know what options are available to you to formulate a
strategy to address these issues. To help you obtain the insight and planning
you need provide for your loved ones, we are waiving our usual ($750) Family
Wealth Planning Session fee. Please come and see us right away because planning
can take time. Hurry in and see us. Call….
