Massachusetts
For Massachusetts, statute is Section 20; who owes the duty is Any person, over eighteen, who, being possessed of sufficient means, unreasonably neglects or refuses to provide for the support and maintenance of his parent, whether father or mother, residing in the commonwealth; condition on the parent is when such parent through misfortune and without fault of his own is destitute of means of sustenance and unable by reason of old age, infirmity or illness to support and maintain himself; ability-to-pay qualifier is being possessed of sufficient means; civil or criminal is criminal, recorded from its source on 2026-08-31.
- State
- Massachusetts our reading
- Statute
- Section 20 verified
- Who owes the duty
- Any person, over eighteen, who, being possessed of sufficient means, unreasonably neglects or refuses to provide for the support and maintenance of his parent, whether father or mother, residing in the commonwealth verified
- Condition on the parent
- when such parent through misfortune and without fault of his own is destitute of means of sustenance and unable by reason of old age, infirmity or illness to support and maintain himself verified
- Ability-to-pay qualifier
- being possessed of sufficient means verified
- Civil or criminal
- criminal our reading
- Penalty
- shall be punished by a fine of not more than two hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both verified
- Defences in the statute
- No such neglect or refusal shall be deemed unreasonable as to a child who shall not during his minority have been reasonably supported by such parent, if such parent was charged with the duty so to do, nor as to a child who, being one of two or more children, has made proper and reasonable contribution toward the support of such parent. verified
- Limited to public assistance cases
- not stated our reading
Values marked our reading are our classification of what the source says — the source does not print them in those words. The quote below is the evidence for each one; judge it yourself.
What the source says
Section 20: Neglect or refusal to support parent Section 20. Any person, over eighteen, who, being possessed of sufficient means, unreasonably neglects or refuses to provide for the support and maintenance of his parent, whether father or mother, residing in the commonwealth, when such parent through misfortune and without fault of his own is destitute of means of sustenance and unable by reason of old age, infirmity or illness to support and maintain himself, shall be punished by a fine of not more than two hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.
— malegislature.gov, retrieved 2026-08-31
Where each value comes from
This source states these in separate places, so each value is shown with the passage that states it.
Who owes the duty
Section 20: Neglect or refusal to support parent Section 20. Any person, over eighteen, who, being possessed of sufficient means, unreasonably neglects or refuses to provide for the support and maintenance of his parent, whether father or mother, residing in the commonwealth
Condition on the parent
unreasonably neglects or refuses to provide for the support and maintenance of his parent, whether father or mother, residing in the commonwealth, when such parent through misfortune and without fault of his own is destitute of means of sustenance and unable by reason of old age, infirmity or illness to support and maintain himself
Ability-to-pay qualifier
Section 20. Any person, over eighteen, who, being possessed of sufficient means, unreasonably neglects or refuses to provide for the support and maintenance of his parent
Civil or criminal
shall be punished by a fine of not more than two hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both
Penalty
unable by reason of old age, infirmity or illness to support and maintain himself, shall be punished by a fine of not more than two hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.
Defences in the statute
No such neglect or refusal shall be deemed unreasonable as to a child who shall not during his minority have been reasonably supported by such parent, if such parent was charged with the duty so to do, nor as to a child who, being one of two or more children, has made proper and reasonable contribution toward the support of such parent.
Limited to public assistance cases
Section 20. Any person, over eighteen, who, being possessed of sufficient means, unreasonably neglects or refuses to provide for the support and maintenance of his parent, whether father or mother, residing in the commonwealth, when such parent through misfortune and without fault of his own is destitute of means of sustenance and unable by reason of old age, infirmity or illness to support and maintain himself, shall be punished by a fine of not more than two hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.
— all from malegislature.gov, retrieved 2026-08-31
Source
- malegislature.govhttps://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIV/TitleI/Chapter273/Section20