A Pennsylvania appeals court finds a son liable for his mother's $93,000 nursing home bill under the state's filial responsibility law. Health Care & Retirement Corporation of America v. Pittas (Pa. Super. Ct., No. 536 EDA 2011, May 7, 2012).
John Pittas' mother entered a nursing home for rehabilitation following a car crash. She later left the nursing home and moved to Greece and a large portion of her bills went unpaid. Mr. Pittas' mother filed an application for Medicaid, which is still pending.
The nursing home sued Mr. Pittas for nearly $93,000 under the state's filial support law, which requires a child to provide support for an indigent parent. The trial court entered a verdict in favor of the nursing home, and Mr. Pittas appealed. Mr. Pittas argued that the trial court improperly put the burden of proving his inability to support his mother on him and that the court should have considered alternate forms of payment, such as Medicaid and his mother's husband and her two other adult children.
The Pennsylvania Superior Court affirms, holding that Mr. Pittas is liable for his mother's nursing home debt. The court agrees with Mr. Pittas that the nursing home had the burden of proving that Mr. Pittas' ability to support his mother, but it rules that the nursing home submitted enough evidence to meet that burden. The court also holds that the law does not require it to consider other sources of income or to stay its determination pending the resolution of the Medicaid claim. It notes that if Mr. Pittas had wished to share his support burden with other family members, he could have joined them in the case.
Thanks to York, Pennsylvania ElderLawAnswers member attorney Robert Clofine for bringing this case to our attention.
In a blog post on the ruling, Pennsylvania ElderLawAnswers member Jeff Marshall writes that “The Appeals Court noted that to qualify as 'indigent' Mrs. Pittas didn’t need to be completely destitute and helpless. She was 'indigent' for purposes of the Family Support law if she did not have sufficient means to pay for her care and maintenance in the nursing home.”
For the full text of this decision in PDF, go to: https://www.pacourts.us/assets/opinions/Superior/out/A36025_11.pdf
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