Equity Matters: Doing Fairness in the Context of Family Caregiving
Canadian Journal on Aging, Vol. 26 Supplement, No. 1, pp. 91-102, 2007
13 Pages Posted: 31 Dec 2010
Date Written: December 30, 2007
Abstract
Although family scholars conceptualize care-giving in terms of networks of carers, little attention has been given to equity within these groups. Siblings comprise a prevalent care-giving network of members who feel responsible for parent care, expect to share these responsibilities with each other, and look to each other to evaluate the fairness of their sharing. In this paper, a multidisciplinary approach is used to examine sibling views of equity in relation to disputes over giving parent care and receiving parent assets. A literary perspective is offered through analysis of step-sibling tensions depicted in the novel Family Matters. Real life disputes among biological siblings that have been pursued through the courts are also examined. Issues arising from these examples are then analysed through the lens of legal doctrines of equity. Siblings evaluating fairness undertake careful comparisons of their respective relationships with parents in terms of biological links to parents and type and extent of influence in interactions with parents.
Keywords: aging, equity, caregiving, siblings, literary, legal, multidisciplinary
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