# Massachusetts — Filial responsibility laws by state — what each statute actually says about an adult child's liability for a parent's care 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, not quoted from the source)_ - **Statute:** Section 20 _(verified: appears in the quote below)_ - **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: appears in its own passage below)_ - **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: appears in its own passage below)_ - **Ability-to-pay qualifier:** being possessed of sufficient means _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_ - **Civil or criminal:** criminal _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_ - **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: appears in its own passage below)_ - **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: appears in its own passage below)_ - **Limited to public assistance cases:** not stated _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_ ## 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. ## 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. ## Source - https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIV/TitleI/Chapter273/Section20 Last verified: 2026-08-31. Review by: 2027-08-31. Part of [Filial responsibility laws by state — what each statute actually says about an adult child's liability for a parent's care](https://referencesource.org/filial-responsibility-laws-by-state/).