Are your children fulfilling their legal duties? Understanding the responsibilities of children towards elderly parents

Parent-child relationships are one of the most important and complex relationships in life. They are the foundation for a child's development and identity. It is the parents who provide a safe environment for their child to grow into a better and responsible human.

However, as humans move forward in the race of life, it is evident that key important family values are being left behind. Where once taking care and maintaining parents with love and care was seen as a moral responsibility of a child, it is now looked upon as a burden by many.

General Responsibilities towards Parents
Just like it is the responsibility of a parent to provide their child with love, care, good education, a proper environment, and financial support, and maintain them until the age of their maturity, similarly, it becomes a responsibility of a child to support emotionally, financially, and maintain their parents when their parents are not in a position to maintain themselves.

At a senior age, it is a basic and fundamental need of every senior citizen parent that they receive ample company, love, and care from their children. Feeling lonely and neglected at a senior age is a very sad feeling and directly affects the physical and mental health of the senior parent. Consequently, their life expectancy is negatively impacted.

Legal Responsibilities
In many societies, there are legal obligations and expectations for adult children to provide support and care for their elderly parents. These obligations typically fall under the concept of filial responsibility.

Filial responsibility laws, which exist in some countries or states within countries, generally require adult children to provide financial support for their parents when they are unable to support themselves. These laws vary widely in their scope and enforcement and are not universally applicable.

It is important to note that filial responsibility laws are not present in all jurisdictions, and even in places where they exist, enforcement can be limited or rare. Thus, in many societies, the responsibilities towards elderly parents are more rooted in cultural and moral expectations rather than legally binding obligations.

According to Indian Law, children are under an inescapable legal duty to take care of their parents when they are in the evening of their life and do not have a sufficient source or support of their own. The parents who are not being maintained by their adult child can enforce their right by filing a case under section 125 of CrPC.

Under the provisions of this section, a Magistrate of the first class may, upon proof of such neglect or refusal, order the adult children to make a monthly allowance for the maintenance of their parents, at such a monthly rate as the Magistrate thinks fit. This provision is applicable in all Indian States and for persons of all castes and religions.

The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, the most significant law that establishes the legal responsibility of children towards their parents in India, aims to make the provisions of maintenance and welfare of elderly parents or senior citizens more effective. It binds adult children legally to provide for their parents' maintenance. The act not only includes biological parents but also adoptive and stepparents.

The state under this act is authorized to set up maintenance tribunals for the elderly. Parents can apply to a maintenance tribunal seeking a monthly allowance from their children or legal heirs. In the 2018 amendment, the government has attempted to widen the definition of "children" to include daughter-in-law and son-in-law.

Hindu Adoption and Maintenance act 1956
Section 20 of the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act 1956 binds parents to maintain their child until the age of maturity, whether legitimate or illegitimate. The section further prescribes that a child is liable to maintain their parents who are elderly or incapable of taking care of themselves. A childless stepmother is also considered as a parent under this section.

Key Precedents
In the case of Dr. (Mrs) Vijaya Manohar Arbat v. Kashi Rao Rajaram Savai and anr., the Supreme Court held during 1986 that "a father or mother, unable to maintain themselves, can claim maintenance from their son or daughter. The expression "his father or mother" is not confined only to the father or mother of the son but also to the father or mother of the daughter." Thus, it has been clarified that even daughters, whether married or unmarried, are equally responsible to maintain their elderly parents.

Global Scenario
The legal obligations of children towards their parents vary from country to country. In some countries, the law imposes a legal duty on children to provide for their parents in their old age. For example, in China, the Elderly Rights Law of 2013 requires adult children to visit their elderly parents regularly and provide them with emotional support, as well as financial assistance if necessary. Failure to do so can result in fines or even imprisonment.

Similarly, in Singapore, the Maintenance of Parents Act requires children to provide maintenance for their parents who are unable to support themselves. However, in some countries, there is no legal obligation for children to support their parents. In the United States, for example, there is no federal law that requires adult children to provide for their parents.

Final Word
In conclusion, elderly parents are undoubtedly a part of the vulnerable section of society. It is important to recognize that these are their rights, and not classified as favors. The legal obligation extends not only to providing necessities such as food, clothing, and shelter, but also extends to medical expenses and other essential requirements.

It would be better if current and future parents focus on inculcating robust family values in the upcoming generations.

Satya Muley
Satya is a leading Civil & Criminal Law lawyer from Western India.
He practices at Bombay High Court, the Supreme Court and Courts in Pune/Maharashtra & New Delhi.
For any queries or support in legal matters you can reach him at or at Contact Us
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