Filial Responsibility and Maryland Law

Caring for elderly parents can be financially burdensome, no matter the circumstances. People who do not live near their parents may contribute to the cost of home health aide services or nursing home care. They might co-sign with their parents so that the son or daughter is legally responsible for the nursing home bills only if the parent runs out of money to pay. The financial costs of providing direct care for one’s parents are at least as high. Working age adults who live near their parents, or even in the same household, often spend many hours per week of unpaid labor helping their parents with tasks of daily living, instead of or in addition to earning income from their jobs. If you are approaching retirement age, your financial situation is unlikely to undergo a major improvement. If living hand to mouth is your comfort zone, then preparing for your own financial future might not seem appealing, but at least you should think about the financial hardship your children could face if you do not have an estate plan. To find out more about how to protect your children from the costs of your long-term care, contact a Washington, D.C. estate planning lawyer.

Your Kids Don’t Have to Pay for Your Long-Term Care, but Creditors Can Take It Out of Their Inheritance During Probate

Perhaps, even though living without a plan has become your identity, you might have gotten worried enough to Google how your long-term care costs could affect your children. You may have read something about filial responsibility laws, where a nursing home resident’s children automatically become responsible for the resident’s bills, even if the children did not co-sign the contract when the resident entered the nursing home. Filial responsibility laws were once common, but most states have repealed them. Maryland abolished filial responsibility clauses in long-term care agreements in 2017, so if you enter a nursing home ion the future, there is no chance that these former laws will apply to your family.

If you run out of money to pay for nursing home care, Medicaid will take over payments, and all it costs you in the short-term is your Social Security check. When your estate goes to probate, though, Medicaid will file claims against your estate for everything it paid that your Social Security check did not cover. This could lead to your family inheriting less property from you, or even your estate settling insolvent, so that your heirs inherit nothing. The best way to protect your family from this scenario is to buy long-term care insurance, which you can only qualify for if you are relatively young and healthy. If you have missed your chance to buy long-term care insurance, hybrid life insurance is the next best thing, since it pays for up to five years of long-term care.

Contact Tobin O’Connor Concino P.C. About Anticipating Long-Term Care Costs

A Washington, D.C. estate planning attorney can help you plan for long-term care, even if you got a late start.  Contact Tobin O’Connor Concino P.C.  in Washington, D.C. or call 202-362-5900.

Source:

mgaleg.maryland.gov/2017RS/Chapters_noln/CH_541_hb0764e.pdf