What happens when a person who is in need of long-term care is unable to pay for it? More than half of the states in our country have filial responsibility laws — laws that can make adult children financially responsible for their parents’ medical bills and other necessities of life when the parents do not have the means to pay on their own. The extent of this responsibility varies by state.
What are Filial Responsibility Laws in our Area? (Virginia/Maryland/District of Columbia)
Currently, in the DMV area, Virginia has filial responsibility laws; DC and Maryland do not. Under VA Code § 20-88, every adult child over 18 shares a joint obligation to help support and maintain their parents if those parents cannot provide for themselves. The key phrase here is “sufficient earning capacity or income” — the law only applies if you can reasonably afford to help after taking care of your own immediate family first. There are no reported cases on what defines “sufficient earning capacity or income,” so unfortunately this is a gray area, the statute is clearly meant to be interpreted on a case by case basis.
The penalties are real, though rarely enforced: refusing to provide support under the statute can result in a fine up to $500 and up to 12 months in jail. More commonly, the concern is civil liability — a nursing home or other creditor pursuing you for unpaid bills.
Some states, like Virginia, incorporate the civil penalty and criminal penalty into one statute; others have two separate statutes, which are all listed in the list below.
Which States Enforce Filial Responsibility Laws?
As of 2026, there are 28 states with filial responsibility laws on the books. Iowa and Maryland’s prior laws are listed below, but have both been repealed.
Below are citations to the actual statutes:
1. Alaska Stat. 25.20.030, 47.25.230
2. Arkansas Code Ann. 20-47-106
3. California Fam. Code 4400, 4401, 4403, 4410-4414; California Penal Code 270c; California Welf. & Inst. Code 12350
4. Connecticut Gen. Stat. Ann. 46b-215, 53-304 (applies only to parents under age 65)
5. Delaware Code Ann. tit. 13, 503
6. Georgia Code Ann. 36-12-3
7. Idaho Code 32-1002
8. Indiana Code Ann. 31-16-17-1 to 31-16-17-7; Indiana Code Ann. 35-46-1-7
9. Iowa Code Ann. 252.2 – repealed in 2015
10. Kentucky Rev. Stat. Ann. 530.050
11. Louisiana Rev. Stat. Ann. 4731
12. Maryland Code Ann., Fam. Law 13-101 – 13-109 – Repealed in 2017
13. Massachusetts Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 273, 20
14. Mississippi Code Ann. 43-31-25
15. Montana Code Ann. 40-6-214, 40-6-301
16. Nevada Rev. Stat. Ann. 428.070; Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. 439B.310
17. New Hampshire Rev. Stat. Ann. 167:2
18. New Jersey Stat. Ann. 44:4-100 to 44:4-102; 44:1-139 to 44:1-141
19. North Carolina Gen. Stat. 14-326.1
20. North Dakota Cent. Code 14-09-10
21. Ohio Rev. Code Ann. 2919.21
22. Oregon Rev. Stat. 109.010
23. Pennsylvania Cons. Stat. 23 Pa.C.S. § 4603
24. Rhode Island Gen. Laws 15-10-1 to 15-10-7; R.I. Gen. Laws 40-5-13 to 40-5-18
25. South Dakota Codified Laws 25-7-28
26. Tennessee Code Ann. 71-5-115, Tenn. Code Ann. 71-5-103
27. Utah Code Ann. 17-14-2
28. Vermont Stat. Ann. tit. 15, 202-03
29. Virginia Code Ann. 20-88
30. West Virginia Code 9-5-9
How do Filial Responsibility Laws Work in My State?
State laws vary. However, law student Shannon Edelstone, in her award-winning essay (cited below), studied all of the state laws and found that most agree that children have a duty to provide necessities for parents who cannot do so for themselves. The states’ legislation also gives guidelines to the courts, telling judges to use a number of factors when weighing the adult child’s ability to pay against the indigent parent’s needs. Judges, accordingly, have considered such variables as the adult child’s financing of their child’s college education, as well as his/her personal needs for savings and retirement.
Contributing Source: Filial Responsibility: Can the Legal Duty to Support Our Parents Be Effectively Enforced? by Shannon Frank Edelstone, appearing in the Fall 2002 issue of the American Bar Association’s Family Law Quarterly, 36 Fam. L.Q. 501 (2002).