# Ohio — Filial responsibility laws by state — what each statute actually says about an adult child's liability for a parent's care For Ohio, statute is Section 2919.21; who owes the duty is No person shall abandon, or fail to provide adequate support to: (1) The person's spouse, as required by law; (2) The person's child who is under age eighteen, or the persons's child with a mental or physical disability who is under age twenty-one; (3) The person's aged or infirm parent or adoptive parent; condition on the parent is aged or infirm parent or adoptive parent, who from lack of ability and means is unable to provide adequately for the parent's own support; ability-to-pay qualifier is the accused was unable to provide adequate support or the established support but did provide the support that was within the accused's ability and means; civil or criminal is criminal, recorded from its source on 2026-08-31. - **State:** Ohio _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_ - **Statute:** Section 2919.21 _(verified: appears in the quote below)_ - **Who owes the duty:** No person shall abandon, or fail to provide adequate support to: (1) The person's spouse, as required by law; (2) The person's child who is under age eighteen, or the persons's child with a mental or physical disability who is under age twenty-one; (3) The person's aged or infirm parent or adoptive parent _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_ - **Condition on the parent:** aged or infirm parent or adoptive parent, who from lack of ability and means is unable to provide adequately for the parent's own support _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_ - **Ability-to-pay qualifier:** the accused was unable to provide adequate support or the established support but did provide the support that was within the accused's ability and means _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_ - **Civil or criminal:** criminal _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_ - **Penalty:** whoever violates division (A) or (B) of this section is guilty of nonsupport of dependents, a misdemeanor of the first degree _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_ - **Defences in the statute:** It is an affirmative defense to a charge under division (A)(3) of this section that the parent abandoned the accused or failed to support the accused as required by law, while the accused was under age eighteen, or had a mental or physical disability and was under age twenty-one. _(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 2919.21 | Nonsupport or contributing to nonsupport of dependents. Ohio Revised Code / Title 29 Crimes-Procedure / Chapter 2919 Offenses Against the Family Effective: April 6, 2023 Latest Legislation: House Bill 281 - 134th General Assembly PDF: Download Authenticated PDF (A) No person shall abandon, or fail to provide adequate support to: (1) The person's spouse, as required by law; (2) The person's child who is under age eighteen, or the persons's child with a mental or physical disability who is under age twenty-one; (3) The person's aged or infirm parent or adoptive parent, who from lack of ability and means is unable to provide adequately for the parent's own support. ## 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 > (A) No person shall abandon, or fail to provide adequate support to: (1) The person's spouse, as required by law; (2) The person's child who is under age eighteen, or the persons's child with a mental or physical disability who is under age twenty-one; (3) The person's aged or infirm parent or adoptive parent, who from lack of ability and means is unable to provide adequately for the parent's own support. ### Condition on the parent > (3) The person's aged or infirm parent or adoptive parent, who from lack of ability and means is unable to provide adequately for the parent's own support. ### Ability-to-pay qualifier > (D) It is an affirmative defense to a charge of failure to provide adequate support under division (A) of this section or a charge of failure to provide support established by a court order under division (B) of this section that the accused was unable to provide adequate support or the established support but did provide the support that was within the accused's ability and means. ### Civil or criminal > (G)(1) Except as otherwise provided in this division, whoever violates division (A) or (B) of this section is guilty of nonsupport of dependents, a misdemeanor of the first degree. ### Penalty > (G)(1) Except as otherwise provided in this division, whoever violates division (A) or (B) of this section is guilty of nonsupport of dependents, a misdemeanor of the first degree. ### Defences in the statute > (E) It is an affirmative defense to a charge under division (A)(3) of this section that the parent abandoned the accused or failed to support the accused as required by law, while the accused was under age eighteen, or had a mental or physical disability and was under age twenty-one. ### Limited to public assistance cases > (A) No person shall abandon, or fail to provide adequate support to: (1) The person's spouse, as required by law; (2) The person's child who is under age eighteen, or the persons's child with a mental or physical disability who is under age twenty-one; (3) The person's aged or infirm parent or adoptive parent, who from lack of ability and means is unable to provide adequately for the parent's own support. ## Source - https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-2919.21 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/).