Home Care Articles

By Mark S. Hankins

In general it’s difficult to argue against the notion that children who have the means should be willing to contribute to keep mom & dad when they no longer can live on their own: the question is do we want the state forcing that when costs have become astronomical? Well, 30 states have laws like that on the books that come under the heading of “filial responsibility” and these laws date back to what England put on their books in the 1600s. If the parents can’t or won’t pay, then to the extent adult children have the ability to pay, these states’ laws say they must.

Between 1965 and 2005, medicaid essentially covered nursing home care costs for the elderly, few questions asked. But the Deficit Reduction act of 2005 changed the parental asset transfer lookback to 5 years, now parents entering a facility are required to prove

Continue reading The Coming Tsunami of Parental Nursing Home Costs