Honoring Father and Mother
43. If a father dies before repaying his debts, his heirs should repay them. If they received no inheritance, according to the Shulchan Aruch, they are not obligated to do so. However, if the heirs repay the debts in such a situation, this is considered a positive and very important act.
44. If a father (or parents) committed a transgression that led to disgrace and gossip, the children must rectify the situation even after their parents' death. Sometimes this requires returning a stolen item or an item that the father accepted as ribbit (that is, he lent money at interest, and when the loan was repaid, he took items equal in value to the amount of interest). But even this will help only if the father repented of his actions before his death.
45. There is also an obligation to fulfill the parents' final request (their will). All the good that children do at their parents' behest (after their death) becomes an advocate for the souls of the departed. Our good deeds in this world truly affect what happens in the world of souls.
46. If a father or mother has lost their reason, the son must respond in accordance with the new view of reality that has taken hold in their mind. If the son cannot bear this trial on his own, he may limit himself to watching over them, and may even hire someone else to do so. This is necessary to protect the parents from conflicts with other people and from disgrace.
It is important to remember that a person with different views on life is not considered insane, provided, of course, that these views do not lead to forbidden or outrageous behavior.
47. If a father needs a splinter removed, someone else should be found to do it. In trying to remove the splinter, the son might injure him, thereby violating the commandment to honor one's father and mother. The same applies when the son is a doctor and his father comes to him, for example, to have blood drawn for a test or to undergo surgery. Under this law, the fact that the son had no intention of drawing his parent's blood does not exempt him from responsibility.
However, this law applies only if the procedure can be performed by someone else. If there is no one else who can help the father, the son is permitted to do whatever is necessary, especially if the father's life or health is in danger.
48. If doctors have forbidden a father (or mother) to eat a particular food, and he asks (or even demands) that his son buy it, the son is not obligated to fulfill his request. Sometimes a patient must not be told what danger he faces or how long he has left to live, so as not to hasten his death. Therefore, if sick parents ask their son to tell them everything he knows about their test results and so forth, in certain situations it is forbidden to give them the full information.