[ashleyn]

One notable, and very underreported exception, is Pennsylvania's filial responsibility law[1]. In Pennsylvania, if a resident of a nursing home is indigent, the liability falls statutorily on their family, who the home is free to sue and secure a judgement. This may not have gotten much attention due to uncommon use, but it's very real, and it's been upheld by the PA State Supreme Court. A handful of children of seniors have been bankrupted by filial responsibility judgements.

[1]: https://www.paelderlaw.net/pennsylvanias-filial-support-law-...

[moshmosh]

Yes, in fact the details vary some depending on which state you're in and how you're related to the deceased. In general, though, I'd treat unsolicited calls attempting to get you, personally, to pay for a dead relative's debts, as bullshit until you're 100% sure they're not. Most (all?) state governments have FAQs for this sort of thing online, and the federal government also offers guidance (all trivially Googleable).

[s1artibartfast]

Actually, I dont think PA is an exception here. Most states have similar laws on the books.

[codemac]

https://www.robertreeveslaw.com/blog/children-support-parent...

The interesting part is how they're not applied. There are federal statutes that are more specific - and only two states have used these laws within the last 20 years.

There are only extreme corner cases where you need to worry about this.

[lotsofpulp]

No one needs to worry, until money gets tight. Then it's every man for himself, and the government will go after you. Or they will stiff the nursing home, and then let the nursing home go after you, like the what happened to the guy in Pennsylvania.

With the government budget situation in many places, and large amounts of people about to become elderly and rack up bills, I would consider it more than a remote possibility in the future.