Should there be a legal obligation for adult children to care for their parents?

It's almost universal that parents must care for their underage children. Should there be a legal obligation to take care of your elderly parents when they can no longer fend for themselves or would it just serve to further widen the gap between the rich and not so rich?

I don't think it should be because there are a lot of old people who the kids just cannot take care of them anymore, if they're mean, they're violent, they need 24/7 care, that would be the time I think to put them in a nursing home or something.

Before someone reaches elderly stage they should start making arrangements for their care later on in life and if that includes willing adult children then that's fine but I dont think there should be any OBLIGATION for it legally. The elderly are still adults and have to bear some of their own responsibility for survival if their of sound mind.

I agree with Robbie. It's an adults responsibility to prepare for their retirement and elderhood years. Of course, this can include children who're willing to step up and be responsible for their aging parents, once they reach a certain point of being less and less capable of fending for themselves; but until the law demotes people of a certain advanced aged from adult status, I can't agree with imposing legal responsibility onto their kids.

Moral, yes. Legal, no.

ETA: although if the parents were not loving or caring or abusive people I think the childs obligation ends. I didn't take care of mine & have no guilt about that.

Ooh...Chris bumped me!

Moral one maybe, but not legal. Little children cannot care for themselves. Adults can arrange for care in their older age.

I think a child should care for their parents in old age if their parents were good to them. But not all parents are.

I agree with FM. If your parent didn't care for you, why should you care for them.

Rockbird wrote:I agree with FM.

We got a big cold front coming people.

I just saw some bacon go flying past my window.

Nah. If you know you got shiftless children, I'd suggest you make the necessary arrangements and not depend on them. LOL, this reminds me of a conversation I had with my aunt. She's funny as hell....she already proclaimed that she was going to check herself into a home when she gets old. Her kids are full of shit, lol.

It should never be a legal obligation.

If it was, my son's paternal grandmother would have stopped her tricks years ago, knowing she would be taken care of (further) by us in her old age.

When people treat you well & are kind & decent it makes you want to help them out in any way you can. But when they treat you like shit it doesn't really encourage you to do anything for them at all.

If you sucked as a parent, I say you deserve to be "wrapped in newspapers and tossed in a garbage can."

I don't think it should be a legal obligation, esp. if people had horrible childhoods because of their parents and then what about kids in government care? Should they be forced to take care of parents who were the reason or part of the reason they ended up being taken away? If adult children want to care for their parents, they should be allowed but they shouldn't be forced to.