As an elder law firm, we deal with the estates. And a lot of clients are handling the estates on behalf of the parents because it’s just time. They’re taken over as a power of attorney, a trustee, or even an executor through the will when the loved one passes away.
And one of the biggest concerns is their liability. And they continually ask us, if I helped my parents? I’d love to, of course, but am I responsible for their debts or am I financially responsible for their medical expenses? If you’re doing your job, the answer is no. So that gives a law that’s on common law books. It’s not commonly used called familial responsibility, where you do have some responsibilities to provide for your folks.
But if you act properly, prudently as a fiduciary on behalf of your folks, you should not be responsible. Now, one concern I have is that when you admit a loved one to a facility, there’s a mound of paperwork. It’s as much a financial situation as a health care situation. And I can’t blame the facilities for this. They do want to be reimbursed.
Everybody wants to be paid. So the facilities want to make sure that we get paid. And one option is through what’s called a sponsorship agreement where the person admitting the loved one to the facility volunteers to be responsible for those expenses. That’s a separate page. It has to be voluntary. They have to make you aware of it. But be careful of what you’re signing, especially through that admission process.
You don’t want to volunteer to be responsible for the medical expenses of another.