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I have only seen filial laws enforced in VERY rare cases.  There was one in PA, where the elderly parent was in a car accident, and the son evaded discovery and refused to assist in Medicaid application.  The judge noted his evasiveness for the record.  The clear implication to me was that he had taken money from mom or paid on her behalf,  and then dumped her in nursing home.
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I think that our poster most familiar with filial laws is WorriedinCali. She does site some cases. I myself, in a massive long career in nursing have never seen a case of them implemented in my state which does have them. And they are rarely used when there is not the other person out there with lots of money. I would not worry this one overly much, though occassionally you will be posted some horror story. We have seen people on the forum who got "pay now" letters from a nursing home. I have never seen someone on the forum in the last year who said that any nursing facility took them to court to pay for a relative. So I think rarely used as hen's teeth are found.
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Oh...I do know about those laws. My state still has it on the books. I am so anxious and fearful that, one day, my husband (of only 5 years) will be financially responsible for his 92 year old mother who is still in relatively good health. She and my FIL (who died a year ago) lived beyond their means and never planned for my MIL to outlive him. She has also fallen victim to scams and may have lost as much as $50,000+ dollars to them (or she lied to us for years about how much money they had). We have stopped her from falling for about 4 scams over the past few years...but are there some we do not know about?? So when she is broke because of their poor financial choices the state I live in could make my husband use his retirement to pay her expenses if she does not yet qualify for Medicaid. I retired early to spend time with my older husband (8 years older than me), his only sibling died suddenly 4 years ago and our retirement plans are now shot because of being solely responsible for my MIL. It is so unfair. Our attorney assures us we can get her on Medicaid before the Filial laws kick in but what if she is still relatively independent?? I refuse to let her live with us...I would go back to work and move out if it came to that. She is a narcissist and pathological liar. I have petitioned my state rep to repeal the law but he supports the law...says the courts will decide if we must support her or not. I am so stressed about this...plus my husband now being evaluated for cognitive impairment...that I am on anti-anxiety medication and my anxiety has been by far the worst it has ever been. How can children be made to be financially responsible for financially irresponsible parents?? Seems unconstitutional to me.
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