Opinion ID: 2103373
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: grandfather's appeal, # 15852

Text: It is settled law in this state that the obligation to support poor persons results not from common law, but statutes. Sioux Valley Hosp. Ass'n v. Davison County, 298 N.W.2d 85 (S.D.1980); North Dakota ex rel. Strutz v. Perkins County, 69 S.D. 270, 273-74, 9 N.W.2d 500, 501 (1943). South Dakota statutes contain no authority to attribute the medical debts of an adult emancipated child to a parent. The court ruled that SDCL 25-7-6 was the source of Grandfather's responsibility. This statute provides: It is the duty of the father, the mother, and the children, of any poor person who is unable to maintain himself by work, to maintain such person to the extent of their ability. The promise of an adult child to pay for necessaries previously furnished to such parent is binding. (Emphasis added.) This applies where an adult child is unable to make a living. Tesch v. Tesch, 65 S.D. 637, 277 N.W. 328 (1938) (interpreting § 191, S.D.Rev.Code, 1919, which was identically worded). It makes parents and children liable for support of each other under the conditions named. Tesch, 65 S.D. at 639, 277 N.W. at 329. This Court has stated that there is no continuing duty once a child attains majority and is physically and mentally able to support herself. Schmidt v. Clark County, 65 S.D. 101, 271 N.W. 667 (1937). This pattern is reflected in our statutes: SDCL 25-5-17 provides: The authority of a parent ceases: (1) Upon the appointment by a court of a guardian of the person of the child; (2) Upon the marriage of the child; (3) Upon its attaining majority; (4) Upon the emancipation of a child. (Emphasis added.) SDCL 25-5-18 provides: No child can be emancipated unless he is in no manner dependent on his parents for support. (Emphasis added.) SDCL 25-5-18.1 provides: The parents of any child are under a legal duty to support their child in accordance with the provisions of § 25-7-7, until the child attains the age of eighteen, or until the child attains the age of nineteen if he is a full-time student in a secondary school. (Emphasis added.) The statutory structure is quite clear. An able, functioning adult is not the responsibility of his parent. Birchfield v. Birchfield, 417 N.W.2d 891 (S.D.1988) (interpreting SDCL 25-5-18.1). If the child lacks the ability to make a living, the situation is different. Mother worked before her pregnancy and after. She is a registered nurse. She is manifestly able to fend for herself. The statute the court relied on to absolve the county, SDCL 28-13-1.1, informs us: For the purposes of this chapter, an indigent or poor person is any person who does not have sufficient money, credit or property to furnish support or does not have anyone able to support him to whom he is entitled to look for support or is unable to work because of illness or injury.... (Emphasis added.) The adult emancipated child, able to work, is not the charge of his/her parent. As Mother is not entitled to look to Grandfather for support, the trial court erred in considering him as a source of support. We agree totally with Grandfather's quote from Sacred Heart Medical Center v. Williamson, 637 F.Supp. 184, 186 (E.D.Pa.1986): [P]laintiff's argument leads to a reductio ad absurdum. One need only envision a 40 year old wage earner who is disabled for six weeks with a broken arm. Under plaintiff's argument, his parents would be liable for his medical bills. If the law intends any such bizarre result, then surely Mr. Bumble would have been right in his appraisal of the law as a[n] ass, a[n] idiot. C. Dickens, Oliver Twist, Ch. 51. In short, Grandfather can be liable for neither Mother's bills, nor Grandchild's, as he is even further removed statutorily. SDCL 25-7-6 makes no reference to grandparents. The trial court's decision that Grandfather was liable for the medical bills in question is hereby reversed. The implications of this holding for Father and County are considered below.