The Supreme Court of Tennessee rules that the state Medicaid agency may pursue an estate recovery claim against real estate that passed by will from a deceased Medicaid beneficiary to devisees, even though Tennessee has not adopted an expanded definition of “estate.” In Re Estate of Trigg (Tenn., No. M2009-02107-SC-R11-CV, May 30, 2012).
Ardell Trigg, a Medicaid beneficiary, died in 2006 leaving a small personal estate and a house. Her will left her real property to Susan and Mark Shaw, and Ms. Shaw was named as the personal representative of Ms. Trigg's estate. In 2007, the Bureau of TennCare filed a $22,319 estate recovery claim against the estate. Ms. Shaw filed an exception to the claim, but in 2008 the probate court overruled the exception.
Ms. Shaw appealed the probate court's decision to the Putnam County Circuit Court, which reversed the probate court and allowed the exception, finding that the devise of real property in Ms. Trigg's will caused title to vest immediately in the Shaws upon Ms. Trigg's death, thereby bypassing estate recovery. TennCare appealed, arguing that the Circuit Court did not have jurisdiction to hear the appeal and that its decision was incorrect. The Court of Appeals agreed with the jurisdictional argument and remanded the case to the probate court for further proceedings, without ruling on the merits. The estate appealed to the Supreme Court of Tennessee, arguing that TennCare can reach only Ms. Trigg’s personal property because the state has not enacted the expanded definition of “estate.”
After a lengthy exploration of the tortured history of probate courts inTennessee, the Supreme Court of Tennessee finds that the Circuit Court did not have jurisdiction to hear the appeal. However, the court decides to rule on the merits of the case and finds that TennCare has a right to assert a claim against the real property in Ms. Trigg's estate. The court explains that "[a]ny real property that can be reached by the personal representative . . . for the payment of the debts of an insolvent estate may be reached by the probate court for the purpose of reimbursing TennCare . . . the Shaws did not assert any sort of joint survivorship interest in the property. Therefore, on the face of the record, the real property . . . is not beyond the reach of the probate court to be used for the payment of her debts, including the debt to TennCare."
For the full text of this decision, go to: https://www.tncourts.gov/sites/default/files/trigg.opn_.pdf
For an Associated Press article about the ruling, click here.
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