Nursing Care Costs Reduced for Kids

Germany's constitutional court has put a limit on the extent to which adult children are financially responsible for their aging parents in need of all-round care. The court ruled that off-spring would not be forced to sell their real estate in order to bear the burden of nursing costs. The presiding judge, Hans-Jürgen Papier, said that although grown-up children should take their responsibility towards their parents seriously, they should ensure that they also have enough to live off. The Duisburg regional court earlier ordered a 66-year-old woman to meet her mother's 63,000 euros ($77,000) nursing costs by agreeing to the sale of her 125,000-euro share in a house. But the constitutional court overturned the ruling, claiming that the woman, who earns just 560 euros per month and has no pension, earned too little to be held responsible for the debt.