Recently, the North Dakota Supreme Court found a son liable for his parents’ $104,276 unpaid nursing home bill under North Dakota’s filial responsibility law.
In October 2006, Earl and Ruth Linderkamp entered a nursing home. Ruth Linderkamp died in December 2008 and Earl Linderkamp died in September 2010. After their deaths, the nursing home sued their son, Elden, to set aside a prior land transfer as a fraudulent conveyance under North Dakota law and to recover the unpaid nursing home debt for care provided to his parents. The son brought a third-party claim against his siblings for contribution for the unpaid nursing home care provided to their parents.
North Dakota’s filial responsibility law, N.D.C.C. § 14-09-10, states: “It is the duty of the father, the mother, and every child of any person who is unable to support oneself, to maintain that person to the extent of the ability of each. This liability may be enforced by any person furnishing necessaries to the person. The promise of an adult child to pay for necessaries furnished to the child’s parent is binding.”
The lower court held that the son, Elden, was personally liable for the $104,276 unpaid health care costs of his parents’ care at the nursing home, but did not determine the whether his siblings were required to share that liability. The son, Elden, appealed.
The North Dakota Supreme Court held that the son, Elden, was responsible for the cost of his mother’s and father’s care under North Dakota law. The Court wrote: “The language of N.D.C.C. § 14-09-10 imposes a duty on children of parents who are unable to support themselves to maintain their parents to the extent of the ability of each child, which may be enforced by any person furnishing necessaries to the parents.” The North Dakota Supreme Court returned the case to the appeals court to determine the whether the other siblings were also liable under North Dakota law.
http://www.ndcourts.gov/_court/opinions/20120432.htm
In May 2012, we wrote about the Pittas case from Pennsylvania, where a Pennsylvania court held a nursing home resident’s son liable for over $92,000 of nursing home care provided to his mother under Pennsylvania’s filial responsibility law.
Over two dozen states have some form of filial responsibility laws that make adult children responsible for their parents’ costs of care if their parents are indigent.
Should you have any questions, please contact:
Brian Jent at 317.977.1402 or bjent@wp.hallrender.com;
David Bufford at 502.568.9368 or dbufford@wp.hallrender.com; or
Sean Fahey at 317.977.1472 or sfahey@wp.hallrender.com; or
Your regular Hall Render attorney.
