Parents Are Not Liable For Medical Debts Of Adult Children On Shared Insurance - Public Health (2024)

FAQs

Parents Are Not Liable For Medical Debts Of Adult Children On Shared Insurance - Public Health? ›

“Normally, if you're 18 or older, you're considered the responsible party, even if you're insured under your parents' policy,” Gundling said. Under the Affordable Care Act, parents can keep their children up to age 26 on their insurance policy, even if the adult kids are financially independent and live on their own.

Once a child turns 18, the child is legally responsible for his or her own medical bills unless the parent signs an agreement with the medical provider to pay those bills. As for other debts incurred by children under 18, parents generally are not legally liable for these debts.

Some states have filial responsibility laws that let creditors turn to adult children for payment of their parents' health care costs. Filial responsibility laws need to be triggered before going into effect, and enforcement is rare. Collectors may still pursue adult children for their parents' unpaid medical bills.

Typically, while the insurance covers a significant portion of medical expenses, certain costs like deductibles, co-pays, or out-of-network charges might fall on the primary holder.

Your mother or father may have had substantial credit card debt, a mortgage, or cr loan. The short answer to the question is no, you will not be personally responsible for the debt, but failure to pay such a debt can affect the use and control of secured assets like real estate and vehicles.

If your parent died with significant debt, you may wonder who is responsible for paying that debt. In general, children are not personally liable for a deceased parent's debt. Instead, the trust or estate must pay off creditors as part of the trust or estate administration, with a few exceptions.

Filial responsibility laws, also known as filial support laws, are legal statutes that require adult children to financially support their parents if they are unable to do so themselves. In California, these laws are outlined in Family Code Section 4400.

You are not responsible for your parents' debt. This is true regardless of whether you inherit assets under their estate.

“Normally, if you're 18 or older, you're considered the responsible party, even if you're insured under your parents' policy,” Gundling said. Under the Affordable Care Act, parents can keep their children up to age 26 on their insurance policy, even if the adult kids are financially independent and live on their own.

Who is ultimately responsible for paying a medical bill? ›

Regardless of insurance coverage, patients are ultimately responsible for payment of their medical bills.

Responsibility for paying medical bills is apportioned between the patient who receives care, their insurance provider (if they have one), and government payers like Medicare and Medicaid (if the patient is eligible).

You are not responsible for someone else's debt.

This is often called their estate. If there is no estate, or the estate can't pay, then the debt generally will not be paid.

The states that have such laws on the books are Alaska, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, ...

Much as grown children owe parents something, parents owe their children, too—preparing them to lead their own life, develop their own talents and skills, and pursue their own path to happiness.

The responsibility for debt falls on the person who incurred the debt, not their family members. This is true regardless of whether the family member knew about the debt or not. However, there are some exceptions to this rule. For example, if you co-signed a loan, you will have to pay it back.