There is an ongoing debate that younger family members should bear the legal responsibility of supporting their elder members who can no longer take care of themselves due to physical, mental or financial challenges. I strongly believe that, making people take legal responsibility can bring certain benefits and that law should not be the approach to this problem.
First and foremost, the law of responsibility for young family members to support the elderly is not always advantageous since not every individual is properly nurtured. In fact, there are many cases where children have been abused or neglected by their parents, leading to long-lasting trauma in their lives. Therefore, if policymakers decide to introduce the law of caring for old people, these individuals will have two choices: paying a fine or going to jail or caring for someone who causes their mental illnesses. By choosing to take responsibility before the law, they can lose an amount of money to increase their quality of life, whereas the option of taking care of their former generations who have had negative impacts on their childhood will cause further severe mental health issues.
Another reason worth mentioning is the time-related problems. There are many considerations that young adults need to take into account, such as living expenses, the education of their children, and the healthcare of their families. If they have to bear more legal responsibility towards their parents, they will be forced to balance between the time they work, caring for their children and also the old family members, which is nearly impossible. Therefore, they are likely to do it in a superficial way, meaning that the physical aspects will be handled while the mental aspects are not. It means that meals or medication costs are paid while conversations and mental support are lacking, leading to boredom and a sense of isolation for the elderly people, thus, nursing homes are a better approach for these situations since they can guarantee both physical and mental health for old folks.
In conclusion, I believe that the responsibility for taking care of the elderly should not be a law as it has some disadvantages associated with the mental health or time management of young family members.