Adult children sometimes have legal duty to support elderly parents in South Africa

South African law recognises a reciprocal duty of maintenance and support between parents and children, meaning that just as parents must care for their dependent children, adult children may be legally obliged to financially support their parents, if they have the means to do so.

Jan-Hendrik Loots of Guthrie and Theron Attorneys says this duty has its roots in Roman law and Roman-Dutch law, which forms the foundation of South African common law.

In practical terms, this means that the parent needs to be regarded as indigent, i.e. extremely poor and unable to afford necessities like food, shelter and medical care. 

"It's basically on a case-by-case basis," explains Loots. "It's not required that the parent be totally destitute, so the court will only compel the adult child to supplement the parent's income."

This legal requirement is also secondary to a child’s duty to support their own spouse and minor children.