From the Handelsblatt archive: If the social welfare office pays for the nursing home, children are taken into recourse. But the office's rights are limited. A new ruling gives less time to recover monetary donations.
Nursing home costs: When children have to return gifts and pay for their parents. Photo: Getty Images [M]
Frankfurt. Nursing homes will become a financial test for even more seniors in the future. In July 2026, the personal contribution nationwide was an average of 3,364 euros per month. According to the demands of the CDU Economic Council, it should be increased further as part of the nursing care reform.
Because their own financial resources are not sufficient, in 2023 a third to half of nursing home residents in North Rhine-Westphalia received “help with care” from the social welfare office. Social welfare expenditure in this area continues to rise. The authorities then try to hold the children of those in need of care responsible.
It is worthwhile for families to know exactly the applicable rules. Because the authorities are proceeding briskly.
“Sometimes the social welfare offices write to the children directly and ask about their financial circumstances without the requirements for a right to information having already been met,” reports Thomas Franz, a specialist lawyer in social law at the Plagemann law firm. A new ruling by the Federal Finance Court also limits the scope of social welfare offices with regard to reclaiming donations.
When donations can be reclaimed
If the assets of a person in need of care fall to 10,000 euros (“protective assets”) and no spouse can step in, children can in principle also become liable to support their parents. Not only do their income and assets play a role, but also previous gifts from their parents.
Anyone who gives away assets and later becomes impoverished can claim the donation back for ten years in accordance with Section 528 of the German Civil Code (BGB). “Genders don’t usually do that; they rather apply for support from the social welfare office,” says Anton Steiner, a specialist lawyer in inheritance law at the law firm Groll, Gross & Steiner. However, the social welfare office has no inhibitions whatsoever. “It seizes the claim for repayment and takes action against the donors,” says Steiner.
The protective assets that people in need of care are allowed to keep when the social welfare office steps in is 10,000 euros.
In contrast to the claim to a compulsory portion in inheritance law, the right to reclaim does not shrink over ten years if the donor becomes impoverished. “Under certain circumstances, the entire gift must be returned or its value must be used up by paying the amount required for maintenance,” says Steiner.
BGH: Claim reimbursement within three years
How quickly the social welfare office must assert the claim for repayment was recently the subject of proceedings before the Federal Court of Justice (case number: X ZR 71/25). The BGH has made it clear that the claim for repayment can generally only be asserted within the three-year standard limitation period after the impoverishment occurs. If the social welfare office has not reclaimed the donation three years after the year in which “care assistance” was applied for, the claim is time-barred.
This deadline applies to gifts of money, securities or other assets. However, a separate limitation period of ten years only applies to real estate.
Why the donation cannot be saved
Bridging the statute of limitations to get the donation out of the way doesn't work. “If a child takes over the care or initially provides financial support out of their own pocket, the statute of limitations is suspended or can even start again,” explains social law expert Thomas Franz.
Buying a car: If you give a gift of money, you may have to reimburse the value. Photo: ddp
Only if the child has already “used up” the gift will the social welfare office receive nothing. However, there are two restrictions here: “If you buy a car with the gifted money, for example, you still have the value - just in a different form,” says Markus Sikora, President of the Federal Chamber of Notaries and notary in Munich. If the social welfare office has already contacted you and announced that you will assert the claim, the following applies: “Anyone who still spends the gifted money must reimburse the value of the gift - from their own assets,” says Sikora.
Anyone who gives away the gifted property - for example to their own children to keep them safe - gains nothing. “The reclaim then falls on the children,” says Sikora.
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However, the claim for repayment must always be satisfied in money. “Anyone who has received a property as a gift does not have to sell it, but can cover the costs from their own income or financial assets or, if necessary, borrow against the property, i.e. take out a loan from the bank,” says social law expert Franz.
How the social welfare office gets information
If there are no donations that the social welfare office can fall back on, children can be used to cover care costs even if they earn more than 100,000 euros gross per year. In June 2026, the then Health Minister Nina Warken announced that she wanted to lower this limit. Nothing has been decided yet.
In order for the social welfare office to take recourse against the children of the person in need of help, the person in need of help must cooperate. Therefore, when applying for support benefits, she must provide information about gifts from the last ten years and state the profession and probable income of her children.
Children who have received gifts or earn more than 100,000 euros should not help fill out the forms because otherwise they would have to provide truthful information about their circumstances and would thereby incriminate themselves. Thomas Franz, specialist lawyer for social law at the Plagemann law firm
Sometimes older people or people with dementia no longer remember all the details. In these cases, social law expert Franz recommends: “Children who have received gifts or earn more than 100,000 euros should not help fill out the forms because otherwise they would have to provide truthful information about their circumstances and would thereby incriminate themselves.” Instead, other people, such as friends or carers, can also help with the application.
The social welfare office always needs sufficient evidence that the 100,000 euro limit has been exceeded in order to obtain a right to information against the children. According to Franz, this could either be information in the application form that allows conclusions to be drawn about a corresponding income, or publicly available information, for example on social media.
In practice, however, social welfare offices sometimes ask questions in the dark. “Affected children should contact a social lawyer and, if necessary, have it clarified in court whether they actually have a right to information from the social welfare office,” recommends Franz.
If there is a right to information regarding income and the income is actually over 100,000 euros, the social welfare office can also inquire about other financial circumstances, explains social law expert Franz.
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Parental maintenance from 100,000 euros gross per year
The income limit of 100,000 euros is only a rough indicator. The extent to which children will actually have to contribute to the nursing home costs for their parents must be calculated individually. According to BGH ruling No. XII ZB 6/24, the monthly deductible is currently 2,650 euros net.
In addition, maintenance claims from spouses or minor children and special burdens are taken into account, such as personal medical expenses or loans that were taken out before the need for assistance occurred. Expenses for retirement provision can be deducted up to 23.6 percent of gross income. According to the BGH, there is no objection if the child is given 70 percent of the income that exceeds the deductible.
Apart from that, both the children and the social welfare office can have maintenance payments adjusted at any time in the event of changes in income or expenses, says Franz.
Deduct parental support from taxes
If children voluntarily cover the costs of their parents' nursing or retirement home, they can claim these as tax deductions. However, the reason for the accommodation plays a role.
“If the parents move into an institution for reasons of age, the deductible costs in 2026 are capped at a maximum of 12,348 euros, with parents’ income of over 624 euros additionally reducing the deductible amount,” explains David Martens, managing director of the Federal Association of Wage Tax Assistance Associations (BVL).
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“If the parents are sick or in need of care, the costs can be claimed as extraordinary expenses for tax purposes,” says Martens. There is then no maximum amount. However, extraordinary burdens only have a tax-reducing effect if the reasonable personal contribution is exceeded. A single person without minor children and with an annual gross income of 100,000 euros cannot deduct the first 7,000 euros in extraordinary expenses.
If the parents break up their household to move into a nursing home, the tax authorities also assume an annual household savings of 12,348 euros, which is deducted from the eligible costs.
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Federal Court of Justice
In addition, according to Martens, there is another pitfall: expenses for the accommodation and care of a needy parent may not be considered as an extraordinary burden if the child previously took over all of their secure assets when they were already of retirement age. This was decided by the Federal Finance Court (Az. III R 38/95).
