My logic -

Involves parallelism - "not able to meet".......will be responsible to pay

What is OA
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IMO D

This is a hypothetical "If...then..." clause. (Note: then is optional in the sentence)
When we want to predict something conditional about the future, we can use the present tense in the if clause and will + the base form of the verb in the result clause.
Thus option C and E are out for using "is" instead of "will".

The correct Idiom is "Responsible for" and NOT "Responsible to". E.g I'm responsible for my low gmat scores.
Thus option B and C is out for using incorrect idiom "Responsible to".

Option A is wordy and awkward.
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Self evaluation for Why MBA?

both '[the] responsibility to', and 'responsible for' are the correct idioms

go with D.

good explanation bigoyal. +1

to be "responsible for" is to be accountable, or chargeable with being
the author or cause of something. Paying for the consequences of you
actions or inactions. For example, US is responsible
for the state of insecurity in Afghanistan.

To be "responsible to", I think should be a form of loyalty (or being
answerable) to a higher authority...is it? for example, the House of Reps
is responsible to the upper Senate.

D, in this instance, is the correct option.
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Good summary...

I incorrectly picked B also. Must memorize idiom:

responsibility to
and
responsible for
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Knowing the correct idiom 'responsible for' eliminates A,B,C. The sentence speaks of a hypothetical situation where a person is unable to pay his/her dues, so the consequence should be in the future tense "Will" and not present tense "is"

Answer: D
Idiom: 'responsible for'
'if...will..'


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I am confused between B and D,

can anyone clearly explain the difference B and D and also please share the OA..


Thanks in advance
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Can someone help me understand why the answer is not "E"?

The opening of the sentence states that the law has already passed. There is certainty there, and therefore wouldn't the conditional statement be more factual based? In other words, wouldn't the correct form be "...if the person is not able to meet the payments, that person's spouse is responsible for paying"?

The law part of it makes it seem that this is now an established sequence of events, making me think that simple present can be used.

Furthermore, for hypothetical situations, wouldn't you use the word "would"?

From e-GMAT, the rules for using "would" include:
- dealing with a hypothetical situation
- an assumption
- expectation of future event.

"will" on the other hand, describes certainty, in which case, isn't the simple present choice "e" better because it also maintains idiom?

edit: I think I get it. I was looking at it from a macro level. The law sets a condition in a hypothetical situation in which if a person cannot pay, his or her spouse will have to pay. I had originally thought that the law itself had stated a fact, but the law actually set up a condition in case this situation plays out...am I right here or did I just confuse everyone even more?

edit 2: what's the source of this question? I know I'm being super-picky here, but I WANT to score a 40+ on my verbal.