Over the past several years, the cost of long-term care for the elderly has soared, in tandem with healthcare costs in general. And some experts are now concerned that the adult children of long-term care patients could be made legally liable for their unpaid bills.
Here’s what’s going on: 29 states and Puerto Rico have on the books what are known as filial responsibility laws. If your parents reside in one of these states, you could, in certain circumstances, be judged legally responsible for the cost of their care.
Filial responsibility laws have been on the books for many years, but because of the availability of Medicare, long-term care providers had generally not sought to have them enforced. A case decided in 2012, however, caught the attention of the legal and financial planning communities.
In the case, Health Care & Retirement Corp. of America v. Pittas, a defendant was in Pennsylvania was ordered to pay $93,000 toward his mother’s long-term care bill from a nursing facility.
Charlie Douglas, a board member of the National Association of Estate Planner and Councils, recently said the filial responsibility laws could be a “sleeping giant” as healthcare grows more expensive and Americans live longer. “Most people,” Douglas noted, “aren’t even aware of filial responsibility laws.”
To be sure, the enforcement of filial responsibility laws has been rare so far. Whether that changes or not, paying for long-term care is a likely eventuality that should be planned for well ahead of time.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, seven of 10 people over age 65 will need long-term care at some point in their lives, whether in-home, at an assisted-living-care community facility, or in a nursing home. Long-term care costs can easily surpass $200,000, according to the MetLife Mature Market Institute.
If your parents don’t have a plan for long-term care, their adult children should bring the subject up with them. What’s more, it’s important for those in the 40s and older to have their own plan so that they don’t burden their children financially down the road.
The team at Anderson Retirement Solutions can help to ensure that your parents have the ability to afford costly, long-term care. We can also provide strategies for funding your own potential long-term care needs should they arise. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you’d like to discuss long-term care planning.
