Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: Rhode Island actually runs two statutes: a century-old 200 dollar criminal fine for neglecting a destitute parent, and a separate 2015 civil law that lets a nursing facility recover directly from a child who received an asset transfer that triggered Medicaid ineligibility.
What Rhode Island actually sets out
| What the statute sets out | What it says |
|---|---|
| R.I. Gen. Laws Sec. 15-10-1(a), criminal | “Any person, above the age of eighteen (18) years, who unreasonably neglects or refuses to provide for the support and maintenance of his or her parent… when his or her parent through misfortune, and without fault of his or her own, is destitute of means of sustenance and unable by reason of old age, infirmity, or illness to support and maintain himself or herself, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars ($200), or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or by both a fine and imprisonment.” |
| The more relevant nursing-home statute, Sec. 15-10-8, civil | “The uncompensated costs of care provided by a licensed nursing facility to any person may be recovered by the nursing facility from any child of that person who is above the age of eighteen (18) years, to the extent that the child previously received a transfer of any interests or assets from the person receiving such care, which transfer resulted in a period of Medicaid ineligibility… Recourse hereunder shall be limited to the fair market value of the interests or assets transferred at the time of transfer…” |
| Sec. 15-10-8 survives the parent’s death | “The death of the person receiving nursing facility care shall not nullify or otherwise affect the liability of the person or persons charged with the costs of care hereunder.” |
| Defenses under Sec. 15-10-1 | “No neglect or refusal shall be deemed unreasonable as to a child who, during his or her minority, was not reasonably supported by the parent, if the parent was charged with the duty to do so, nor as to any child who, being one of two (2) or more children, has made proper and reasonable contribution toward the support of his or her destitute parent.” |
| Case law | No primary-sourced enforcement case was found for either section. |
How it works in practice
- Sec. 15-10-1 is criminal and rarely the practical tool a nursing home would reach for; it is enforced through a complaint by the director of human services, a welfare director, or the destitute parent themselves, not a facility’s own lawsuit.
- Sec. 15-10-8, added in 2015, is structured much like North Dakota’s narrowed statute, civil, capped at the transferred asset’s fair market value, and tied specifically to a Medicaid-disqualifying transfer, not a general indigent-parent rule.
- A facility can pursue the Sec. 15-10-8 claim even after the parent has died, since the statute says the parent’s death does not nullify the child’s liability.
What a filial responsibility statute is, why most of them sit unused, and which state is the one with documented recent enforcement is explained on the filial responsibility laws by state page. How this fits alongside the other two mechanisms that can turn a parent’s medical debt into a living person’s debt is explained on who actually owes medical bills after a death, and what a nursing home may and may not ask a family member to sign at admission is on the admission agreement traps page. This page is the record for Rhode Island.
What this page does not settle
- Whether Sec. 15-10-8 has ever actually been used by a Rhode Island nursing facility was not confirmed either way this session; the statute is relatively new, 2015, and no enforcement history could be located.
- This page reads the state’s own current code and 1 other primary source. A state can amend or repeal this section without the page around it changing, and a detail specific to your situation, such as a pending Medicaid application or a prior period of estrangement, can change which part of the statute applies.
- A statute existing is not the same question as whether it has ever been used. Enforcement history, where it exists at all, is noted on this page; where none was found, that is stated plainly rather than left blank.
- Every quotation here was read against the source on September 4, 2026. Nothing on this page is legal advice, and the statute’s own defenses and procedural requirements matter as much as its liability language.
Whether this statute actually reaches a given family’s situation is decided by a court on the specific facts, not by this page. Nothing here is legal advice, and no one should sign anything or send money on the strength of a web page.
Sources
- R.I. Gen. Laws Sec. 15-10-1 through 15-10-4 (Rhode Island General Assembly)
- R.I. Gen. Laws Sec. 15-10-8 (Rhode Island General Assembly)
The sources above were retrieved and read against the state text on September 4, 2026. Every quotation on this page was checked against those bytes.