TP you're probably right in assuming this was born out of affluent people trying to pull a fast one by passing on their money, possessions & property etc to their kids so they don't have to pay for care.
Lee I have spent all of last night reading quite complicated social care law forums where these things are being discussed by the professionals, in particular solicitors etc. Seems this has resulted in a situation where now siblings take each other to court over who becomes responsible for paying for the parents. Seems that there is some debate around whether siblings inland become responsible for a proportion of any funds not enforced by care agencies from siblings who live abroad.
What they can do, basically, is write to me to tell me that they, by law, are entitled to receive a financial assessment to be completed by me. Such an assessment would take into consideration your income and outgoings / personal circumstances. So for example people with kids would pay less than those who chose not to have any. Another example of where you get shafted by the state for your decision not to breed. Another cracker is that, if G and I were married, they COULD take his income into consideration, which I think is outrageous. What would any of this have to do with him????
Anyway, judging by what I've read so far, most social services departments chose not to go through the legal hassle of internationally pursuing children who emigrated and are no longer German tax payers, but fact remains that they COULD and that pisses me off no end. 
