I ran across an interesting story from Reuters entitled "Neglect of Parents a Criminal Offense." Apparently, in India adult children can face up to a month in jail for neglecting aging parents. The new law also allows judges to order
adult children to pay their parents a monthly stipend.
While nothing like this exists in the United States, it is interesting that other cultures seem to place a lot more emphasis on familial responsibility for the elderly whereas we put this obligation on the government (Social Security and related programs).