Are adult children legally responsible for a parent’s unpaid nursing home bills?

You're not legally responsible for your dad's nursing home costs unless you signed an agreement with the nursing home making yourself a "responsible party."

When most nursing home residents run out of money to pay for care, they become eligible for Medicaid coverage of their nursing home bills. For a complete discussion of Medicaid rules having to do with nursing facility care, take a look at our article Will Medicaid or Medicare help pay for my mother's long-term care?.

But Medicaid pays nursing homes less than private paying residents do. So, before allowing a person to become a resident, some nursing homes require someone else -- usually a family member -- to agree to be a back-up payer of a resident's bills, rather than allowing the resident to switch to Medicaid. This back-up payer would be responsible for the bills if and when the resident runs out of private insurance coverage and personal funds to pay for care.

If you're not sure whether you signed such an agreement, or what its terms are, ask the nursing home -- or have your dad ask -- or a copy of your dad's residence contract.