The most important questions and answers - Do children have to pay for their parents' care costs?
## Contents
- What expenses must a care-dependent person cover themselves?
- Do care-dependent persons have to use up all their assets to cover their care costs?
- Who steps in when the assets of care-dependent persons are depleted?
- How much do high earners have to pay for parental care?
- How is the contribution to care costs divided among several children?
- What counts as "income" in the first place?
- Are there any loopholes to save one's own or the parents' assets?
- What are the exceptions?
When strength wanes or age-related diseases such as dementia no longer allow self-sufficient living, a care place must be found – either with a home care service or in a nursing home.
However, care costs can quickly run into the thousands per month. According to a study by the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds (vdek), the self-payment contribution of a cared-for person in a nursing home averaged 2248 Euros per month in July 2022. Even those who have saved a lot in life or receive a substantial pension find themselves unable to cover these costs in the long term. Do the children have to pay for the parents' maintenance in such a case? Overview.
What expenses must a care-dependent person cover themselves?
"First and foremost, the person who needs care must provide for themselves before looking to the children," explains Silke Lachenmaier, advisor in the Health and Care Department of the Consumer Center Rhineland-Palatinate. "It's important to check which resources the parents have at their disposal beforehand," Lachenmaier explains in an interview with the stern.
While some costs can be covered by statutory health insurance, monthly costs often exceed the contributions of the insurances significantly. Consequently, many care-dependent persons have to pay the remaining costs "out of their own pocket." To do this, they first use their monthly income. These are usually pension payments and any additional income, such as rent from lettings or similar. If these revenues are not sufficient, care-dependent persons must cover further costs from their assets.
Do care-dependent persons have to use up all their assets to cover their care costs?
Lachenmaier dispels a common misconception: "It's a misunderstanding that one has to spend everything." Care-dependent persons have at their disposal what is called a protected capital in the amount of 5000 Euros. This should not be touched under any circumstances, warns Lachenmaier – not even to offset costs: "If the protected capital is used up, the social welfare office will not refill it."
## Who is responsible for paying for the care costs when the assets of care-dependent persons are exhausted?
A large fortune or a property that can be sold and used for care costs is not the norm. So, who should pay for the costs when the assets of a care-dependent person are used up? In principle, if a care-dependent person is unable to pay for their care costs, there are two possible parties who can step in: Their own children or the Social Welfare Office.
Many children understandably have fears about having to pay for their parents' care costs and even becoming impoverished themselves. However, this fear is unfounded, according to Lachenmaier: "The situation for children of care-dependent persons has eased since 2020 due to the Attachment Relief Act. Children are only obliged to contribute to maintenance if their annual gross income exceeds 100,000 Euro." There are no exceptions to this rule. The children's assets are completely irrelevant in this case, according to Lachenmaier: "Only income is considered. If this is below 100,000 Euro, then the assets play no role. It could be that someone has saved hundreds of thousands of Euros, but their annual gross income is below this threshold. In such a case, they are not liable for maintenance."
However, things look different for children who earn more than 100,000 Euro. These are generally obliged to pay maintenance first.
In what amount should better-off individuals contribute to the care of their parents?
The amount that individuals with an income over 100,000 Euro must contribute to the care costs of their parents cannot be stated generally, according to Lachenmaier. She recommends consulting a lawyer for precise calculation in such a case. Legally, a child who is obliged to pay maintenance is entitled to a so-called "self-support" of 2,000 Euro net as a single person or 3,600 Euro net as a married couple. This does not mean that everything above this amount is taken for care costs.
To determine the actual burden, the net income is first calculated – that is, the income after deduction of taxes and social security contributions, payments for pension schemes, servicing of loans and credits, insurances, and all other living expenses. All these positions can be marked as "income-reducing."
From the income that remains after deducting all personal costs and self-sustenance, half must be used for the care costs of the parents.
However, there are exceptions: If the monthly expenses of the child, despite high income, are so high that the parents' pension cannot be paid, it will be checked under certain circumstances whether the assets of the child can be used to pay this, as Lachenmaier explains. "But assets must also be considered."
How is the contribution to the care costs among several children divided?
If a care-dependent person has several children, this is also taken into account first: How many children exceed the limit of 100,000 Euro. Children who are below this limit do not have to pay maintenance. If one child exceeds this limit and their siblings do not, this child is solely responsible for the maintenance. If several children exceed the limit of 100,000 Euro, the parents' maintenance will be distributed among them.
What counts as "income" in the first place?
"In principle, everything that is valued as income according to income tax law," explains Lachenmaier. Logically, this includes wages, rental or lease income, as well as income from capital investments such as dividends from stock market investments. The investments in stocks or funds themselves, however, count as assets.
Are there loopholes to save one's own or one's parents' assets?
If the parents' assets have been used up and none of the children earn more than 100,000 Euro, the social welfare office takes over the care costs – regardless of how large the assets of the children are at this point in time. The thought may arise that, before the care costs drain the parents' assets, they should quickly transfer them to their children and let the social welfare office bear the costs. However, the own share of care costs cannot be circumvented so easily, as Lachenmaier explains: "The whole thing has a temporal component. I can certainly give money to my children, but these gifts must have been made more than ten years ago to not be reclaimed by the social welfare office."
This is a civil law claim – simplified: All gifts, especially monetary gifts, made in the past ten years can be claimed back by the social welfare office. Exceptions to this are so-called "respectable gifts," i.e., smaller donations, for example, on birthdays. The social welfare office has the right to view the account statements of the past ten years, as Lachenmaier explains.
Similarly, it looks the same with real estate. Many parents would transfer ownership of their house or apartment to their children early on and secure a lifelong right of residence for themselves. However, the ten-year period should be observed in this regard, in order to be legally on the safe side. Otherwise, the social welfare office could certainly demand the return of the property as an asset or request compensation, to cover care costs, explains Lachenmaier.
What are the exceptions?
In principle, all children – provided their gross annual income exceeds 100,000 Euro – are obliged to pay child support. This also applies in the case of an early break in contact between parents and children.
However, there are certain constellations in which children can be exempted from this payment. This includes, for example, long-term addiction behavior of the parent, neglect of the child, or cases of violence and/or abuse.
However, it is problematic in this regard, the evidence, explains Lachenmaier: "A factual statement is not sufficient. One must prove this allegation with written documents, deeds, or through witnesses." This makes it difficult, for example, to prove neglect or violence in the parental home.
In the case of adopted children, the social parents take the place of the biological parents. Accordingly, the child must pay maintenance to the adoptive parents, but not to his biological parents.
- In cases where care-dependent individuals struggle to cover their care costs, they can seek advice from the Consumer Advice Center Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany.
- When discussing care costs, it's important to consider both statutory health insurance contributions and self-payment, often required to cover the remaining costs.
- Top news headlines may include reports on maintenance costs for high earners providing parental care, and potential ways to divide these costs among several children.
- According to consumer advice, care-dependent persons should avoid dipping into their protected capital of €5000 to cover care costs, as this money remains untouchable, even when other assets are depleted.
