Each state has its own variation of the filial responsibility law. For example, California Family Code section 4400 reads, “Except as otherwise provided by law, an adult child shall, to the extent of the adult child's ability, support a parent who is in need and unable to self-maintain by work.”
In the US, the answer is generally no...you have no legal obligation to pay your parents' bills. However, if you have the means to enable them to live safely in a place they could not otherwise afford, it makes sense to help with the bills.... especially if you can't offer them a place to live in your home.
In general, an adult child is not responsible for the medical bills or debts of a parent unless the adult child voluntarily and knowingly agrees in writing to accept the responsibility.
No, parents are not generally responsible for an adult child's medical debts, said Richard Gundling, senior vice president at the Healthcare Financial Management Association, an organization for finance professionals in health care.
In California, filial responsibility laws could obligate an adult child to financially support their infirm or indigent parent. Learn about how this duty of filial responsibility applies to estate and trust litigation by reading our in-depth analysis of California Family Code section 4400.
Medical debt and hospital bills don't simply go away after death. In most states, they take priority in the probate process, meaning they usually are paid first, by selling off assets if need be.
Community property states: Spouses usually are held responsible for each other's debts in community property states. There are nine community property states: Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Furthermore, the attorney-in-fact is not personally responsible for the decedent's debts, such as credit card bills, mortgages, medical expenses, or funeral costs. These obligations fall to the decedent's Executor, also known as the Personal Representative.
The best way to avoid taking on the debts of a parent or other relative is to administer the estate properly BEFORE distributing the estate to beneficiaries. Put plainly, that means that any money owed to creditors should be dealt with FIRST before giving out any money/property to anyone inheriting.
If you have existing unpaid medical bills, and go into a nursing home and receive Medicaid, the program may allow you to use some or all of your current monthly income to pay the old bills, rather than just to be paid over to the nursing home, providing you still owe these old medical bills and you meet a few other ...
You are not responsible for someone else's debt.
When someone dies with an unpaid debt, if the debt needs to be paid, it should be paid from any money or property they left behind according to state law. This is often called their estate.
As explained above, federal law prohibits a nursing home from holding a responsible party personally liable for a resident's bill. Also, general legal principles say that a representative is not liable for the debts of the person being represented.
Medicare will stop paying benefits once a person has died, meaning their medical coverage, including coverage for hospital bills, will stop. Generally, a person's estate will cover any debts after death. The debt will usually go unpaid if the estate can not cover the bills.
Generally, no. But there are certain circumstances where children may have to pay off the debts left by their parents. A son or daughter will have to pay the debt of their mother or father, for example, if the childco-signed on a loan or is a joint account holder on a credit card.
Filial Responsibility Laws
More than half of the states have "filial responsibility" laws that make adult children responsible for their parents' medical care if their parents can't pay. These rules don't apply when a patient qualifies for Medicare—in that case, the Medicare system pays.
It takes seven years for medical debt to disappear from your credit report. And even then, the debt never actually goes away. If you've had a recent hospital stay or an unpleasant visit to your doctor, worrying about the credit bureaus is likely the last thing you want to do.
In most cases, the deceased person's estate is responsible for paying any debt left behind, including medical bills. If there's not enough money in the estate, family members still generally aren't responsible for covering a loved one's medical debt after death — although there are some exceptions.
And in nine “community property” states, including California and Texas, spouses may be equally responsible for debts incurred during the marriage, including medical debt. Other states may have laws that hold spouses responsible for paying certain essential costs, like health care.
Perhaps the most common debts that cannot be discharged under any circumstances are child support, back taxes, and alimony. Here are some of the most common categories of non-dischargeable debt: Debts that you left off your bankruptcy petition, unless the creditor had knowledge of your filing. Many types of taxes.
If you contact the bank before consulting an attorney, you risk account freezes, which could severely delay auto-payments and direct deposits and most importantly mortgage payments. You should call Social Security right away to tell them about the death of your loved one.
Nursing homes will continue to house those who have run out of money if they have already begun the application process for Medicaid. This means that even if Medicaid had not yet been approved, the resident still has a right to continue living in the nursing home.
The Family Code makes it clear both parents have an equal responsibility to support a child “of whatever age who is incapacitated from earning a living and without sufficient means.” The California Legislature has not limited the application of the state child support guidelines to minor children.
The states that have such laws on the books 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, ...