THE ADULT CHILDREN’S OBLIGATION TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR INCAPACITATED PARENTS FROM THE ASPECT OF LAW AND MORALITY

Abstract

The article is devoted to covering the duty of children who have reached the age of majority to take care of incapacitated parents. Attention is focused on clarifying the nature of this duty through the prism of its legal or moral nature. It is noted that jurisprudence mainly examines this issue within the framework of branch jurisprudence, namely family law; the general legal aspect remains understudied. The analysis of the duty of children who have reached the age of majority to take care of incapacitated parents is carried out through the concept of perception of law by L. Fuller. Law cannot be inherently immoral. According to L. Fuller’s concept of law, law and morality do not fully coincide; they are not identical. It was emphasized that placing such an obligation on a person does not correspond to the process of imposing a legal obligation. A legal obligation provides clear criteria and conditions under which it arises and ceases, including the possibility of releasing a person from the obligation. It is indicated that the understanding of law as a moral phenomenon does not mean that any law is moral. The legislator must strive for morality, but does not always achieve it. Morality serves as a kind of reference point for law-making, indicating the principles and values that should be embodied in the legislation prescriptions. The moral duty to care for parents emphasizes the importance of ethical values in society. In a society where moral values are the basis of behavior, people feel more responsible for their actions and feel more satisfaction in helping others. It is emphasized that the legal obligation must be clearly defined in legal regulations, including specific actions or inactions that are required from the subject of law. However, parental care includes a wide range of actions that are difficult to formalize within the law. It is summarized that the duty of children who have reached the age of majority to take care of incapacitated parents acquires an absolute character, which is not characteristic of a legal duty. Conclusively, this obligation should be in society, but the question is in the nature of such an obligation. Such an obligation is rather a moral one, based on ethical principles, internal beliefs and social traditions. The raised issue may become the object of further scientific discussions.