# North Dakota — Filial responsibility laws by state — what each statute actually says about an adult child's liability for a parent's care

For North Dakota, statute is 14-09-10; who owes the duty is Each parent and every adult child of an adult who is unable to support oneself shall maintain that adult to the extent of the ability of each; condition on the parent is an adult who is unable to support oneself; ability-to-pay qualifier is to the extent of the ability of each; civil or criminal is civil, recorded from its source on 2026-08-31.

- **State:** North Dakota _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Statute:** 14-09-10 _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Who owes the duty:** Each parent and every adult child of an adult who is unable to support oneself shall maintain that adult to the extent of the ability of each. _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_
- **Condition on the parent:** an adult who is unable to support oneself _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_
- **Ability-to-pay qualifier:** to the extent of the ability of each _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_
- **Civil or criminal:** civil _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Who may bring the action:** a creditor may not recover under this duty of support unless the: a. Recovery sought by a creditor is for the furnishing of necessary health services, which may include medical and long-term care services _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_
- **Defences in the statute:** b. Recovery sought is from a parent or adult child who received a direct benefit from a disqualifying transfer of an asset under section 50-06.2-07 or 50-24.1-02; c. Recovery being sought from this parent or adult child does not exceed the fair market value, including any gain, resulting from the disqualifying transfer; and d. Disqualifying transfer occurred within five years of the receipt of the necessary health services or application for medical assistance. _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_
- **Limited to public assistance cases:** extends beyond public charge _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_

## What the source says

> 14-09-10. Reciprocal duty of support for health services - Support of poor. 1. Each parent and every adult child of an adult who is unable to support oneself shall maintain that adult to the extent of the ability of each. 2. Except as provided under subsection 3, a creditor may not recover under this duty of support unless the: a. Recovery sought by a creditor is for the furnishing of necessary health services, which may include medical and long-term care services;

## 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

> 14-09-10. Reciprocal duty of support for health services - Support of poor. 1. Each parent and every adult child of an adult who is unable to support oneself shall maintain that adult to the extent of the ability of each.

### Condition on the parent

> 1. Each parent and every adult child of an adult who is unable to support oneself shall maintain that adult to the extent of the ability of each.

### Ability-to-pay qualifier

> Each parent and every adult child of an adult who is unable to support oneself shall maintain that adult to the extent of the ability of each.

### Civil or criminal

> 2. Except as provided under subsection 3, a creditor may not recover under this duty of support unless the: a. Recovery sought by a creditor is for the furnishing of necessary health services, which may include medical and long-term care services;

### Who may bring the action

> 2. Except as provided under subsection 3, a creditor may not recover under this duty of support unless the: a. Recovery sought by a creditor is for the furnishing of necessary health services, which may include medical and long-term care services;

### Defences in the statute

> a creditor may not recover under this duty of support unless the: a. Recovery sought by a creditor is for the furnishing of necessary health services, which may include medical and long-term care services; b. Recovery sought is from a parent or adult child who received a direct benefit from a disqualifying transfer of an asset under section 50-06.2-07 or 50-24.1-02; c. Recovery being sought from this parent or adult child does not exceed the fair market value, including any gain, resulting from the disqualifying transfer; and d. Disqualifying transfer occurred within five years of the receipt of the necessary health services or application for medical assistance.

### Limited to public assistance cases

> 14-09-10. Reciprocal duty of support for health services - Support of poor. 1. Each parent and every adult child of an adult who is unable to support oneself shall maintain that adult to the extent of the ability of each. 2. Except as provided under subsection 3, a creditor may not recover under this duty of support unless the: a. Recovery sought by a creditor is for the furnishing of necessary health services, which may include medical and long-term care services;

## Source

- https://www.legis.nd.gov/cencode/t14c09.pdf

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/).