Aging at Home

Those Who Care for Their Parents Have an Additional Claim to the Inheritance

Most of those surveyed expressed a desire to grow old at home.(Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER)

A 55-year-old man from Linz failed to care for his mother. She died as a result of neglect—an extreme case that caused an uproar and ended in a lawsuit. But 81 percent of Upper Austrians want to grow old at home. Here’s an overview of how this can be done successfully. And while children do have obligations, they are not required to provide care “for free.”

The slow death by neglect of an 89-year-old woman from Linz and the sentencing of her son (55) to 20 months of probation is causing a stir. Because the son has an intellectual disability and meant his mother no harm, the sentence was so lenient.